Is a darkening areola after lumpectomy normal?
Hello, coming to you all once again as you've given stellar comforting advice in the past.
I'm two and a half weeks out from my lumpectomy, outer right upper quandrent close to the armpit. My doctor called it a deep lumpectomy and I'm thinking she went deep to assure clear margins.
However my areola is dark and turning darker. Could this be bruising?
Thank you in advance for any and all advice.
Comments
-
Hi @janehicks, we hope your recovery is going well. Bruising is definitely a possibility, especially if your incision is close to the areola. Did you have a sentinel node biopsy done as well? During that procedure, a blue dye is injected around the nipple or tumor site and absorbed into lymphatic channels for mapping and excision, and it is not uncommon at all for patients to experience darkening of the skin on and around the areola as the dye wears off.
We'd definitely encourage you to call your surgeon's office with any post-surgery concerns or questions, even if they seem minor or easily explained. And please do keep us posted when your pathology comes back!
The Mods
0 -
Thank you for your response. Yes, I had the blue dye injected (while awake, Yikes!) So hoping that is what's going on. I'll check with my surgeon for verification.
0
