wound recovery due to surgery and treatment timeline

shena010

I was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in July this year and underwent breast-conserving surgery a little over a month ago. My wound healing is not going very well. Because the lesion was very close to the nipple, the chief surgeon announced about ten days after the surgery that the nipple could not be saved. However, I decided back then that I still wanted to try, so I visited other hospitals and consulted several doctors, all of whom said it should be salvageable. After persisting with debridement and dressing changes, the blood supply to the nipple has now returned to normal. However, the current issue is that the cavity left by removing the lesion is very large, and it has been like this for over two weeks now. A few days ago, the nurse practitioner recommended getting it sutured. I am very anxious about this because I really hope the granulation tissue can grow back on its own, rather than forcing it shut with stitches. But on the other hand, I have radiation therapy and I am not sure how much longer I can wait before I start treatment. I am wondering if anyone familiar with similar situations has any good advice or insights to share. Thank you! 🙏

moderators

@shena010 - Hi, and welcome to the Breastcancer.org community! We’re sorry you have to be here, but glad you found us and hope you’ll hear from others who have gone through a similar experience with wound healing after surgery.

In the meantime, you may find these resources helpful:

https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment-side-effects/delayed-wound-healing

https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/surgery/lumpectomy/plus-radiation

Please keep us posted on how your wound heals and what you decide about the next steps with radiation.

The Mods