Do Seromas Go Away on Their Own?

You may not need to do anything other than wait. Your body can absorb fluid from a small seroma. But it may take about a month to go away. Sometimes it can take up to a year. But you don’t need to wait that long, especially if it’s big or sore.

Sometimes you have surgery to remove tissue such as a lump in your breast or belly fat. While you heal, you could get a seroma. That’s a lump of clear bodily fluid that forms under your skin in the empty space where the tissue used to be.

Even though a seroma may feel strange, it’s not a medical emergency. But you can talk to your health care provider if it bothers you. A doctor or nurse can drain the fluid to help you feel better. Make sure to tell your health care team if the bulge hurts, makes you feel sick, or gets bigger. Although it doesn’t happen very often, seromas can lead to an infection.

The exact cause is unknown. But surgeons cut the vessels that carry blood and lymph fluid throughout your body when they remove tissue. When that fluid collects in your body, seromas can form in the open area left behind.

You may get a seroma after these surgeries:

• Partial breast tissue removal (lumpectomy)
• Breast removal (mastectomy)
• Lymph node removal
• Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck)
• Breast reconstruction
• Abdominal wall reconstruction
• Hernia repair
• Removal of thyroid tumors
• Body-contouring
• Liposuction

You may notice a lump a week or so after your procedure. If you have drainage tubes from the surgery, you could get a seroma after your doctor removes them. It may feel like you have a liquid-filled cyst under your surgery site.

You may also:

• Hear liquid move around
• Have clear fluid leak out of your wound

Keep in mind that a seroma is not the same as a hematoma. That’s when blood collects under your skin after surgery. Hematomas usually cause more pain than seromas.

Experts don’t know exactly why seromas form in some people and not in others. But factors that may increase your chances of getting one include:

• Obesity
• Longer, more extensive surgery
• Greater number of lymph nodes removed

Some research suggests you have a higher chance of seromas if you:

• Have high blood pressure
• Are older than 45
• Have a lot of heavy skin removed

If you are a male who gets surgery for breast cancer, a small study shows you may have a higher chance of getting a seroma than a woman does.

A seroma may not cause you any major health concerns. But it could extend your healing time. If you’re healing from breast cancer surgery, this could delay the next step in your treatment.

A seroma can become a problem if it:

• Causes an infection
• Tears open your wound
• Cuts off blood flow to your skin flap tissue
• Causes pain

Seromas may increase your chances of lymphedema. This is a more serious condition where lymph tissue causes parts of your body to swell.

See your doctor right away if the area around your seroma is red, warm, or tender. This could be a sign of infection. You should also talk to your doctor if you have:

• An increase in fluid
• Pressure on the surgery site
• Areas that get more swollen (a sign of lymphedema)
• Fever of 100.4 or higher (a sign of infection)
• Fluid that has blood in it (a sign of hematoma)

See your health care provider if you can’t figure out what is causing your swelling.

You may not need to do anything other than wait. Your body can absorb fluid from a small seroma. But it may take about a month to go away. Sometimes it can take up to a year. But you don’t need to wait that long, especially if it’s big or sore.

To help get rid of your seroma, a doctor or nurse may:

• Drain the fluid with a needle and syringe
• Drain it more than once
• Put pressure on the swollen area
• Give you a shot to collapse and seal the empty space (sclerotherapy)

If these treatments don’t work, your doctor may need to remove the seroma with another surgery.

There isn’t a surefire way to stop a seroma from forming. But your surgeon may try different methods to lower your chances of getting one. These include:

• Drainage tubes: Your doctor may put small tubes under your skin during surgery. If you have a mastectomy, the drains may go in your breast or armpit area. These tubes help remove extra fluid while you heal. You may have them only while you’re in the hospital. But you could need them for a couple more weeks. A health care provider will tell you how to empty them. A provider will also let you know when it’s safe to take them out.
• Dead space closure: Your surgeon may close the empty space with stitches your body can absorb. There is more than one way to do this. One method is quilting. That’s when your surgeon sews your skin flap to another layer of skin. If you have a tummy tuck, your surgeon may use progressive tension sutures. This will tightly pull your abdominal wall to skin above your muscle.
• Fibrin glue: This kind of sealant can close your wound. Doctors need more research to know if this glue can help prevent a seroma. But, some studies show that seromas are less likely when surgeons use fibrin glue and quilting together.
• Delayed shoulder movement: Some experts think you may be less likely to get a seroma if you keep your shoulder still after your mastectomy. But it will take more research to prove this theory.