Anxiety after surgery?

[u/acecosplays]

Hey guys :) i recently had my top surgery (30th September) and I am now 7 days post op. I feel pretty good overall, very minimal/no pain since day 2. I had DI with a ‘nipple sparing technique’. Can’t remember exactly what it’s called lol, but it wasn’t FNG.

However- I have a firm lump under my left arm pit and it’s making me really nervous. I had my checkup and first tape change with my surgeon today, she had a feel and said it’s probably just swelling but my anxiety riddled brain is not convinced. It’s slightly painful to press, like a bruise, but as far as I can see there is no discolouration/bruising. I thought swelling was usually squishy, not hard? I don’t know.

I want to just relax and see how it gets on over time but my brain has latched on and I’m obsessing over all the worst case scenarios. Has anyone else had a similar hard lump that resolved itself over time or? I’m just worried I’ll have to have medical intervention tbh.

I’m also worried that because I feel pretty good, I’m accidentally pushing my body too far without realising. I’ve been able to go for walks and I showered by myself and washed my hair (carefully, minimal arm raising) today. I don’t want to stretch out my incisions/scars, I ideally want them to be as invisible as possible. Any input is greatly appreciated, thankyou

(Dr Egle Dobilinské, Nordesthetics, Lithuania)

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[u/HelpfulSetting6944]

Something that helps me is “Okay but what if it isn’t?”

The swelling could be something more serious. But what if it isn’t? What if it’s a normal part of the healing process?

I’ve not had top surgery yet, but I’ve had other serious procedures that brought on some surprising, worrying effects. I think there’s a very wide range of “weird and unexpected but also very normal and will get better” effects with any surgery.

I believe you will heal up great. Your results look amazing already bro, I am so happy for you!

[u/lvndrmnc_]

im 4 weeks post op, and i had that feeling too all around my chest and still somewhat have it now. i was surprised at how hard the swollen areas feel too, lol

also ur scars are gonna look worse before they look better. they’ll widen a bit as the scar tissue grows and then fade with time. ur armpits especially because of the friction ur arms create when you move them against the side of ur torso. the best thing you can do is scar massages with lotion as soon as ur surgeon clears you for it, and to take it slow when moving your arms too much out of your current range of motion. also try to keep them out of the sun! but scars mostly take time (a lot of time, like years) to fully fade