Major seromas after neck liposuction

[snoopy242]

Hello.  On 7 August I had a neck lipo procedure.  U could see the lovely difference even just on the way home. Bruising went away within three days (I am a quick healer) but on the fifth day I developed two terrible seromas under my jaw line! These got bigger and bigger and I thought they were going to explode! After much toing and froing by the doctors (the surgeon was of no help, the clinic hsa been great) I had these syringed, but only 5 ml came out of each side. A few days later, same again. Yesterday 2ml one side 1 ml the other. However, today (and please note I am still wearing the compress - all day and all night, even in front of children at school and whislt working etc) it is baggy/saggy looking again. I had this surgery so I would look good for my 50th birthday party which is on 9 October. I had absolutely no profile and immediately after surgery I DID have one. Now this! It's awful, looks horrible and I feel like I have wasted all my money.  Now I have an uglier profile and look terrible, from front on, and the compress is so hard to continue to keep wearing. Can u give me any idea how long it will take for me to heal enough, or if these lumps will go, and how long before the "collagen kicks in" which apparently helps "shrink" things back (by "about 66 per cent" I am told). (Everything in quotes are comments by the doctors).

[Howard Rosenberg, MD]

Although I have performed thousands of liposuction procedures throughout the body, I personally have never experienced a seroma except for one when I used ultrasonic liposuction (I don't use this technology any more).  Aspiration of accumulated fluid and compression would seem the most appropriate therapy for now.  Hardness of the tissues and lumpiness will likely follow once the seromas resolve.  This should hopefully resolve by the time of your birthday.

[snoopy242]

Oh lord, well, i am going to let them go back in. The suture is long gone now but i have what looks like a massive double chin. I can't live with this nor can i have my 50th looking like this. My doctor assures me it will be much better. I have a huge lump like I have swallowed a baby's pram wheel under my chin, it is i think, better today than yesterday but will take too long to heal. I hvae to take the risk of more surgery which should give me time for major swelling to go down before 9 October. When i first had my lipo four days later i looked fantastic, the jaw line, everything, but then the seroma came up on the fifth day and the history is above.  All I can do is take the risk of further surgery now and hope that i look ok for my 50th. if I don't, then i'll have to cancel which will break my heart but i saved my pension for this lipo and the surgeon owes it to me to do his best, i have to give him that chance.

[seroma]

You are like the only other person I have found that had what also happened to me. (Hence my med help name) I had a neck lift but it included to lipo in thr neck region.I did not need much as I had a good jaw line no jowls yet but just the beginnings of the 2 neck bands that my Dr said he could correct and made it sound simple. I got a neck seroma. He ended up having to go back in and take the non disolvable sutures out because I thoigh perhaps my tissue wouldn't heal and was staying inflamed and swollen from the buried sutures. All I know for sure is he gave me jowls and a double chin and while the neck bands in the middle are gone now it is worse w neck bands protruding on the outside leading up to the jowl area he created. I swear he gave me a bull frog throat! It has taken nearly 2 years to heal. He still has me on a low dose antibiotic to help w swelling or infection  

[Howard Rosenberg, MD]

It is impossible to advise you about this complication from a distance.  The only other thought I have is if there is some disruption of your lymphatic drainage system (the thoracic duct) which drains into the neck veins.  This is a deep structure and not likely to have been injured with liposuction.

[snoopy242]

Yesterday I had 5FU put in, I wore the compression garment all day and last nite it all looked flatter and I was so rapt. Today I woke up, took off the garment and have a big double chin again. I am beside myself. I believe the clinic is doing all it can, but I have five weeks till my 50th. The stress is affecting me and therefore my child who bears the brunt of this, and it's just awful. I cry all the time, I have worn this compress for three weeks now all day and all nite, and I can't work properly. I just want to hide. Why can't it go away.

[snoopy242]

I keep having it aspirated, Dr R, and it just keeps on coming back! I look like I have a double chin. I get so excited at the prospect of less fluid being aspirated, then the next morning when I take off the compress to look, there it is again! I have been told that the collagen once it "kicks in" will help but I know nothing about that; can u explain this "collagen" process to me, ie. if it takes this long for collagen to work of its own accord, why are collagen creams apparently so wonderful and benefit us so "quickly" externally?