Mastectomy - Recovering from a mastectomy

Most people who have a mastectomy recover well after the procedure and do not develop complications.

In most cases, it takes three to six weeks to fully recover.

After the operation

When you wake up after the operation, it is likely that you will feel sore. This pain can be controlled with painkillers. It is very important to tell your doctor or nurse when you are in pain because they can adapt your medication accordingly.

After the operation, you may have a drip in your arm so that you can be given fluids until you are able to eat and drink again.

Wound care

Following the mastectomy, you may have one or more drainage tubes coming from the wound site. The purpose of these tubes is to drain blood and tissue fluid away from the wound to prevent it collecting and causing swelling or infection. Your surgeon will decide how long the tubes need to stay in for. It may be as short as 24 hours, or up to a few days.

The dressing over your wound will need to stay in place for at least a couple of days. During this time, it may need to be replaced and the wound cleaned. In some cases, the same dressing will need to stay on for a week or so.

You may have dissolvable stitches that do not need to be removed. However, some people have stitches or metal clips that need to be removed after seven to 10 days. Your wound should have healed during this period of time.

Preparing for home

The length of your stay in hospital will depend on the type of surgery you have, but you will usually need to stay in hospital for about two or three days. However, it is not unusual to only stay in hospital for one night. 

Before you leave hospital, your specialist or nurse will talk to you about what to do when you get home. You are likely to need a lot of rest. Gentle exercises may be recommended to overcome the stiffness of your arm and to encourage healthy circulation in the area that has been operated on.

Your specialist or nurse will discuss with you suitable bras and prostheses (bra inserts) if you have not had breast reconstruction. If this is the case, you will be provided with a lightweight artificial breast shape that you can put inside your bra. This is usually temporary until your wound has completely healed. You will eventually be given a permanent prosthesis.

Scars

After a mastectomy, you will have a scar going across your chest and under your arm, although the shape may be different if you had an immediate breast reconstruction.

Your specialist or nurse will also advise you about how to look after your scar. If you are uncomfortable about how your scar looks, there are a number of possible treatments, such as:

• correcting the scar with further surgery
• using make-up to cover up the scar

Read more about treating scars.

Talking to others

Recovering from a mastectomy can be emotionally difficult. Some people find it helpful to talk to others who have been through the operation, both before and after the mastectomy.

You can get information about contacting others who have had a mastectomy from your specialist breast cancer care nurse and from organisations such as:

• Macmillan Cancer Support – it has information about groups you can join and a support line that you can call for free 0808 808 0000 (Monday to Friday, 9am-8pm)
• Cancer Research UK provides advice about finding a support group and a phone number that you can call free of charge on 0808 800 4040 (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm)

You can also find cancer support services in your area.