What not to do after a mastectomy. Nutrition for women undergoing mastectomy. Usually subject to restoration

A real chance for recovery from oncology in the mammary gland is an early operation to remove the organ. In many ways, it depends on the woman herself how the operation will affect her health, how her life will turn out after a mastectomy: in addition to following the doctor's recommendations for maintaining physical health, you need to take care of her mental state. And in spite of everything - to live and enjoy, positively perceiving the world around us.

Removing an organ is a real chance to save life.

Mastectomy - surgery to remove the breast

Timely detected breast cancer is a real chance for a complete recovery. The doctor will perform an operation to remove the organ (mastectomy) and prescribe courses of combination therapy, which will become the basis for defeating the cancer. Having crossed the 5-year milestone, one can safely look into the future. And life after mastectomy should be started anew almost immediately after surgery: there is no need to think about the consequences and metastases, about the complications of chemotherapy and radiation, about a disfiguring cosmetic defect and physical inferiority. An oncologist surgeon will give a chance: life after a mastectomy is a path from the realization of a formidable diagnosis to a psychoemotional victory over the disease.

Removal of the mammary gland for breast cancer is a difficult operation that involves complete resection of the glandular organ along with the pectoral muscles, lymph nodes and axillary tissue. In addition, courses of combination therapy (chemotherapy and radiation) are almost always required. Life after a mastectomy involves following the following medical advice:

  1. Compliance with the daily regimen with good rest and proper nutrition;
  2. Refusal from serious physical activity;
  3. Do not gain weight by giving up high-calorie foods (sweets, rolls);
  4. Rejection of bad habits;
  5. Do not sunbathe or visit the solarium;
  6. Do not go to the bathhouse and sauna;
  7. Protect your hand from the side of the removed breast (and vascular problems);
  8. Use gymnastics recommended by a doctor to restore muscle tone;
  9. Take the pills prescribed by your doctor and complete all courses of special therapy;
  10. Find a business or hobby that will heal a sick mind.

Defeating breast cancer is a long way to go with your doctor. No need to rely on funds traditional medicine or advice from healers: oncology cannot be cured with conspiracies, herbs and roots.

Life After Mastectomy - Mental Health

The most important step in recovery from surgical breast removal is mental health correction. Life after a mastectomy is divided into 2 parts - before and after. There are the following types of psychoemotional stress associated with breast cancer:

  1. Awareness of the diagnosis (the most difficult variant of a stressful situation, which turns the familiar world upside down);
  2. Postoperative reality (absence of the mammary gland, as a factor disfiguring appearance);
  3. General weakening of the body (inability to return to normal life);
  4. Betrayal loved one(not every man can become a support and support in a difficult life situation);
  5. There is no guarantee for a complete cure (no doctor can say with certainty and confidence that an operation and combined treatment will be guaranteed to get rid of breast cancer).

Simple or extended mastectomy is traumatic surgery

Even for a woman with a strong spirit, life after a mastectomy becomes a difficult and long-term trial. For emotionally weak and depressed people, a cancer diagnosis will destroy mental health, dramatically reducing the chances of recovery, especially if there are no loved ones around to support the sick person.

Mammoplasty - cosmetic correction

You can return to a normal appearance after surgery with the help of mammoplasty. Cosmetic surgery involves the use of silicone implants or a woman's own tissues. You can use the services of a plastic surgeon six months after the completion of the combination therapy. Breast correction is the first step towards returning to normal life - physical and psychological changes will remain, but the same appearance will help a woman take the first step towards recovery.

It is quite natural for doctors to consider a situation when, after certain surgical actions on the breast affected by the disease, women feel helpless and overwhelmed.

Many people do not understand how, after a mastectomy, they can return to normal life, regain their former self-confidence and restore the joy of life.

Despite the fact that the physical condition of women after the removal of the mammary gland does change, for her own family, the woman's friends remain the same as before. Even if the patients themselves do not want to believe it.

According to statistics, after a mastectomy operation, thousands of women find the opportunity to feel great again, not at all embarrassed to be in society. However, rehabilitation takes time and some effort.

As a rule, for recovery, women need to actively work on themselves, adhere to a certain diet, follow all the doctor's prescriptions, attend regular preventive examinations, and thereby gain self-confidence.

In any case, it should be understood that the process of postoperative rehabilitation, the process of restoring the mammary gland (if a woman decides to reconstruct it operatively) cannot be simple and momentary.

Although, of course, to call this process of recovery after mastectomy impossible or unbearably long, it is also impossible.

How can a operated breast be corrected or restored?

We have already written more than once that it is possible to restore the removed during mastectomy in several ways: firstly, through plastic surgery, and secondly, through exo-prosthetics.

Of course, various plastic surgeries to restore the former shape of the breast after surgical treatment are possible.

But, decisions on the possibility of carrying out such operations are always made strictly individually.

There are only two main options for performing such operations. This:

  • An operation using a special silicone prosthesis, when the procedure partly resembles operations associated with an increase in breast volume for perfectly healthy women.
  • And the operation, which uses the patient's own tissues, which are borrowed from other parts of the body, to restore the former forms of the breast.

In addition, after a radical breast removal operation, you can restore your femininity thanks to modern exo-prosthetics techniques. These are situations when a special removable silicone prosthesis is made for a woman, which corresponds to the patient in shape, size, etc.

However, one cannot but say that the full rehabilitation of women after removal of the mammary gland is not limited only to the restoration of the shape of the breast. This process includes a whole range of measures aimed at:

  • To prevent the development of lymphatic edema.
  • To maintain the operated tissues and nearby tissues in proper condition.
  • To prevent the development of concomitant diseases.
  • To normalize (correct) the patient's weight.
  • Breast reconstruction.
  • And to maintain the psychological balance of a woman.

Several rules for correct postoperative behavior

Rule one: after removing the mammary gland, you should never ignore the appearance of even minor swelling of the hand or chest(even if the swelling is noticeable only on the hand, or on the fingers).

Rule two: When removing the mammary gland (especially in the postoperative period), the patient must observe the necessary daily hygiene.

You should take a shower regularly, use special moisturizing lotions, deodorants or eau de toilette.

Rule three: It is necessary to discuss with the doctor, the complex necessary in a particular situation physical exercise, appropriate to the patient's health condition, and sufficient to maintain muscle tone.

Rule four: It is advisable to think about possible options for restoring the shape of the breast, naturally, discussing such issues with an experienced qualified surgeon.

Rule Five: You should try to maintain a physiologically normal weight for a particular patient. Ideally, women choose a diet based on reducing salt intake.

The diet should also be rich in fiber and perfectly balanced.

It is very important not to smoke or consume during the rehabilitation period. alcoholic beverages, since it is these addictions that, for women during the rehabilitation period, can be the most dangerous - leading to the development of very specific complications.

Details about proper nutrition in the postoperative period

It is important to remember that all products that a woman who has undergone a mastectomy will consume must be absolutely fresh, and accordingly, the dishes should only be freshly prepared (but not fried).

It is equally important, in this case, to observe correct mode nutrition. For example, you will have to forget about snacking on sandwiches or fast food forever.

The nutrition of the operated women should include such foods that will be selected in order to minimize the burden on the kidneys and liver.

At the same time, it is very important that the woman receives a sufficient amount of correct fats, healthy carbohydrates and proteins.

The correct diet of women during the rehabilitation period should be based on the body's average daily needs for fats, proteins, carbohydrates, trace elements and vitamins:

  • So, the female body's need for fat is about 90 grams per day. Of these, at least 30 grams must be vegetable fats.
  • The loss of proteins after surgery will have to be replenished. So, the body needs about 80 grams per day. of this component... Preference should be given to beef, lean pork, cottage cheese, and sea fish.
  • With carbohydrates, women need to be as careful as possible. It is desirable to keep the daily amount of sugar consumed to a minimum. It is advisable to consume starch, fiber, and pectins no more than 350 grams per day. It is important to eat the right carbohydrates - vegetables, fruits, cereals, bran bread.

But, in any case, a detailed correction of the diet in the postoperative period should be carried out by a doctor who is thoroughly familiar with the medical history of a particular patient.

Mastectomy is a type of surgery when, in order to save the patient's life, the breast tissue is partially or completely removed. Rehabilitation after a mastectomy takes a long time. As a rule, mastectomy with one-stage plasty is prescribed for:

  • oncological diseases of the breast 2-4 stages
  • neglected mastopathy
  • abscesses and purulent inflammations, where tissue decay takes place
  • for the purpose of prevention, when a high likelihood of breast cancer is established by genetic analysis

As a rule, diseases concern one of the mammary glands, therefore, a mastectomy on the mammary gland is performed on one side. In very rare cases, both breasts are removed (when the process has spread to neighboring tissues).

Many women understand by mastectomy a complete removal of the mammary gland, they think that the breast after a mastectomy cannot be restored. However, in surgery it is a complex of various operations, including:

  1. Partial tissue removal (lumpectomy). From the mammary gland, only the lesion is removed - a fibrous node, purulent infiltration or a malignant tumor identified on early stages diseases.
  2. Simple subcutaneous mastectomy. All of the glandular tissue of the mammary gland and possibly some of the fatty tissue are removed.
  3. Modified radical mastectomy. The mammary gland is removed completely along with the axillary lymph nodes, but the pectoral muscles remain intact.
  4. Total radical mastectomy. The breast is removed along with the lymph nodes and muscles of the chest.

In most cases, the operation is preceded by conservative treatment and a complex of diagnostic studies.

Risk group for complications

Most often, complications after breast mastectomy occur in women:

  • age group after 60 years
  • overweight
  • having a large breast size (over size 4)
  • suffering from concomitant chronic diseases of the heart and blood vessels, liver, kidneys, lungs, diabetes mellitus
  • who underwent radiation and chemotherapy courses before surgery

In the prevention of complications, much depends on the professionalism of the doctor, but their own efforts are no less important. It is necessary to be collected, carefully follow all medical recommendations and have a psychological attitude towards recovery.

Consequences of a mastectomy

This operation is one of the complex surgical interventions. It takes several hours under general anesthesia. Therefore, the recovery takes a long time. After a mastectomy, the patient develops an extensive wound field, which requires competent care. Of course, this operation does not always go without complications.

Experts point out:

  1. Early and late postoperative complications.
  2. The occurrence of relapses of a malignant disease.
  3. Serious psychological stress associated with loss of attractiveness and disability.

Everyone knows who is forewarned is armed. A woman who is going to have a mastectomy should be aware of the possible consequences of the operation and methods of overcoming them.

Early complications

In the early period after mastectomy, the following types of complications are distinguished:

  1. Bleeding. They arise for several reasons: poor blood clotting, suture divergence, a blood vessel is not sewn up. Bandaging is used to stop bleeding; in case of poor coagulation, it is prescribed medications... If the cause of bleeding is an oozing vessel, then a second operation is performed.
  2. Lymphatic drainage is often found during mastectomy, because together with the mammary gland, the lymphatic vessels are excised and removed. To overcome the consequences of surgical intervention, drainages are installed in the wound. With strong lymph flow, a puncture is performed.
  3. Infection of a wound can occur for various reasons: violations of the rules of asepsis (measures to prevent infection) during an operation or in the process of dressing, the source of infection can be the patient's skin. To prevent infection of the operating field before and after the operation, a course of antibiotic therapy is prescribed.

Late aftermath

In a more distant period, a patient who underwent a mastectomy may experience:

  1. Lymphedema after mastectomy of the upper limb. After the operation, the lymphatic system does not recover for a long time, and the outflow of lymph is difficult. Many patients experience swelling after a mastectomy of the shoulder area, they feel pain in this area and limited mobility. Sometimes the hand after mastectomy begins to experience a lack of nutrients, this leads to serious trophic disorders and the occurrence of lymphostasis (giant limb). This disease is very difficult to treat, the restoration of the mammary gland is almost impossible. For the prevention of lymphostasis, the patient is prescribed courses of vitamins to restore trophism and hand massage after mastectomy to normalize the outflow of lymph.
  2. Erysipelas. Another type of complication associated with disorders of the outflow of lymphatic fluid. Tissue with disturbed trophism gets into certain kind streptococci, which provokes the development of the infectious process. The patient's temperature rises, appears headache, chills, nausea, redness and swelling of the limb develops. Erysipelas is treated with antibiotics. It is important to start taking them at the very beginning of the disease, otherwise there is a threat of an abscess or bleeding.
  3. Keloid scarring after breast removal. At the site of the seams, rough scars may occur due to tissue trophism disturbance. They cause pain when moving and make it difficult for lymph to drain. They are removed by excision.
  4. Limited mobility of the shoulder joint, loss of skin sensitivity. Typically, intensive treatment and massage will help restore joint mobility and shoulder skin sensitivity.
  5. Phantom pain. Some patients complain of recurrent pain at the site of breast removal. In this case, they are prescribed a course of sedatives and a medical massage.

A quick recovery after a mastectomy depends not only on the doctor, but also on the patient herself.

Breast cancer recurrence

Relapse in most cases occurs 6 to 12 months after breast removal surgery. It can affect the same gland, nearby lymphatic vessels and distant organs - the brain, kidneys, skeletal system, and so on. Relapse is always more aggressive than primary cancer. What are the reasons for its occurrence?

  1. The diagnosis did not reveal individual cancer cells, so the treatment did not affect them.
  2. The mastectomy operation was performed at the 3rd stage of cancer development, when it acquired a systemic course.
  3. The shape of the tumor (usually poorly differentiated) also affects the occurrence of relapse.
  4. The presence of metastases in regional lymph nodes.
  5. Lack of specialized treatment after mastectomy.

According to statistics, if after the operation a woman did not undergo a course of radiation and chemotherapy, then the likelihood of relapse increases to 40-60%. It is very important to complete the treatment. The same statistics indicate that after treatment, the likelihood of relapse decreases to 10%.

Oncologists determine the time of recurrence of breast cancer by a 5-year threshold. If during this time not a single focus of the malignant process was found, the cancer is considered defeated.

Relapse symptoms

How to recognize the occurrence of cancer recurrence? There are certain symptoms that should be alarming:

  • the appearance of hardening in the lymph nodes
  • redness and swelling at the site of the removed breast
  • the appearance of a rash
  • frequent headaches and neurological disorders
  • bone and joint pain
  • enlargement of the liver, the appearance of fluid in the abdomen (ascites)
  • cough, shortness of breath, the appearance of streaks of blood in the sputum
  • common symptoms of cancer: weakness, sudden weight loss, nausea, lack of appetite

To diagnose cancer recurrence, CT and MRI, mammography, biopsy, ultrasound examination, X-ray diagnostics, laboratory tests are used.

Do not be discouraged when detecting cancer recurrence. Modern medicine has enough methods in its arsenal to cope with it. Treatment tactics are based on:

  • radiation therapy course
  • use of chemotherapy drugs
  • hormonal treatment
  • radical mastectomy (if partial tissue removal was previously performed and a relapse occurred at this site)
  • targeted therapy (targeted removal of the tumor at the molecular level)
  • using medications according to symptoms

When a relapse occurs, systemic therapy is prescribed to destroy cancer cells. In difficult cases, when the treatment does not work, the patient is prescribed palliative treatment, the aim of which is to reduce suffering and maintain the quality of life.

Coping with psychological stress

Women find it difficult to endure not the operation itself, but the realization that it is possible to put an end to their attractiveness and sexuality. And the very diagnosis of breast cancer sounds like a sentence. With her shock, constant anxiety and fear, she should not be left alone. They take away the vitality she needs to fight the disease.

A special swimsuit after a mastectomy will help to hide any breast imperfections that have appeared after removal. There are post-mastectomy swimwear with moderate, reinforced hold, in various sizes and colors. You can also purchase other women's underwear after surgery in specialized stores.

During rehabilitation, sex is contraindicated for a woman. Sex should be canceled for about 2-3 months. It may seem to a woman that she no longer needs sex, but after her condition improves and she can already live a full life, sex becomes a part of her life. A woman can also give birth, but she cannot breastfeed.

Also, for women after mastectomy, a special massage is offered so that the lymph does not stagnate.

Nutrition during the rehabilitation period should be varied and of high quality. If the nutrition is inadequate, then the rehabilitation period may be delayed.

Overcome stress in postoperative period the help of a professional - a medical psychologist will help. It will help to reach the body's own internal reserves and build a new life after mastectomy. There should be a place in it:

  • taking care of your appearance
  • usual household chores
  • favorite hobby
  • caring for family members
  • positive attitude
  • correct daily routine and good nutrition
  • helping other people

As for the appearance, you don't have to worry. Breast plastic surgery with the help of plastic surgeons will help to completely restore the breasts and make the woman attractive. Mammoplasty is easily tolerated. After the operation, you will need to go through a rehabilitation period again, which lasts from 2 to 6 months. Mammoplasty has contraindications and costs from 150 thousand rubles. Before the operation, you should undergo a complete diagnosis of the body, and then the doctor will conclude whether mammoplasty is possible or not.

Vitality, good food, optimism and the right attitude are the lion's share of success in the fight against postoperative complications and recurrence of breast cancer.

Mastectomy and other breast surgeries

Radical mastectomy What I mean about breast cancer is to completely remove it along with the skin, pectoralis major muscle, fiber with the lymph nodes of the axillary and subclavian regions. It is not easy psychologically to prepare for such an operation, but the patient must understand the full degree of risk and the need for decisive measures to fight for her health in general. Women are well aware of how plastic medicine is now developed, normal practice is the restoration of the mammary gland after mastectomy, therefore, the need for an operation must be perceived, first of all, taking into account the important indications of the course of the disease.

A common complication after surgery is swelling of the upper limb and stiffness of the shoulder joint of the corresponding side, which often develop soon after surgery.

The increasing edema of the upper limb is a consequence of lymphostasis in it due to a violation of the network of lymphatic vessels in the axillary region. Stiffness in the shoulder joint occurs as a result of deformation of the joint capsule by scarring processes in this area.

Pain appears when trying to abduct and raise the arm. A sharp limitation of movement in the joint contributes to an increase in stiffness. Patients try to limit movement in the joint due to pain, hang their hand on a scarf, which contributes to the growth of stiffness.

Therefore, the best method to combat joint stiffness and an increase in limb edema is therapeutic exercises. It should begin from the first days after discharge from the hospital, first in special rooms under the guidance of an instructor, and then independently.

The patient and her relatives should understand the importance of remedial gymnastics and carry out it, guided by special methodological instructions.

Instead of resting the hand of the operated side, movements of this hand are necessary: ​​at first, careful, until pain appears, and then all increasing in amplitude. Rocking movements in the shoulder and elbow joints, abduction and raising of the hand are initially performed by the patient herself with the help of her healthy hand, and then independently, without support. It is necessary to teach the patient to comb the hair with a sore hand, rub the back with a towel, exercise with a gymnastic stick, etc.

Swelling due to lymphostasis develops in the near future after the operation (weeks, month) and is easy to treat: longitudinal massages, elevated position of the limb. Restoration of disturbed lymph flow occurs due to newly formed lymphatic vessels or the appearance of collateral pathways.

In contrast to mild edema, accompanying directly surgical intervention, often after 6-12 months. after the operation, late dense swelling of the limb appears. They are more common in persons who have undergone combination treatment when areas of possible metastasis were irradiated before or after surgery.

Late dense swelling of the limb may be the result of the scarring process in these areas, which prevents the restoration of the lymphatic drainage pathways. But they can also be the first sign of an incipient relapse. Therefore, each case of the appearance of late limb edema requires an examination by an oncologist.

If a patient complains about the appearance of late edema of the extremity, it is necessary to consult an oncologist, regardless of the period of the scheduled examination. If the oncologist removes the suspicion of a relapse, they begin measures to eliminate or reduce puffiness. They require time and patience of the patient and close relatives to fulfill the complex of oncologist's appointments: massage, self-massage, elastic bandaging, a complex of therapeutic exercises, an elevated position at night and a number of preventive measures to prevent suppuration, erysipelas, and the appearance of cracks.

How can I help myself?

Psychologists have developed several methods to relax and cope with the stress of severe illness.

Mental pictures

We all know how to fantasize: we recall various situations from the past and wonder how we would act in a given situation. In our thoughts, we change events for the better. Or indulge in pleasant memories. We want to relive everything anew.

The ability to daydream can be used to relax before an unpleasant procedure or medical check-up, or if you have insomnia or pain.

Start by relaxing. Find the position that is most comfortable for you. Turn off the lights, turn on your favorite music. There is also special music written for maximum relaxation: it includes the sound of the sea, birdsong. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Breathe in as deeply as possible, stretching in and out as long as possible. Breathe in the vitality of nature, the joy of life and breathe out everything that annoys you: pain, anger, fatigue, fear. With each inhalation and exhalation, you will gain strength and get rid of what is hindering you.

Then switch your attention to the toes, feel the lightness of the limbs, "lift" this comfortable sensation higher and higher. Feel how your body relaxes, how wrinkles around the eyes are smoothed out.

Imagine your favorite place on earth - a forest lawn, a mountainside, a seashore. Remember the smallest details of this place: colors, smells, sounds. Is it cold around you or warm? Can I touch something by reaching out my hand? Is there someone near you? Feel how good you are! May joy, life, the power of nature fill you. When the time comes to leave the virtual paradise you created, do not be sad. After all, you can always return there!

Our expert - doctor medical sciences, Professor Gennady Chepelenko.

It is necessary to fight swelling

During the operation, it is necessary to remove not only, but also axillary lymph nodes, areas of accumulation of tumor cells. As a result, every third patient, and even more often, in the next 1-3 months, develops lymphatic edema of the arm: removal of the lymph nodes located in the armpit disrupts the transport of the most important biological fluid - lymph.

Whether edema appears or not depends primarily not on the patient herself and not on the skill of the doctors, but on the degree of damage to the lymphatic vessels during the illness. Edema can be avoided only in cases where the patient's lymph nodes are not completely affected by tumor cells, and some of them can not be removed during surgery. Such healthy, preserved after the operation take over the "work" of the victims and protect them from complications.

However, incomplete removal can lead to a relapse of the tumor disease. Therefore, most doctors go to the removal of lymph nodes, while removing many small vessels that are associated with these nodes. As a result, lymph stagnation occurs in the soft tissues of the hand, and edema develops. This swelling is exacerbated when a woman after surgery is given the necessary treatment. radiation therapy or if she has developed inflammation.

In some patients, the edema is insignificant, while in others, on the contrary, it leads to severe complications. It does not depend on age or even on the state of health, although, of course, physically strong women have fewer complications. The risk group includes women suffering from venous insufficiency. In this disease, the soil for future edema is "prepared" by a violation of metabolic processes in cells, increased vascular permeability.

See a doctor

1. If the hand becomes pale, cold. At first it is soft, albeit edematous, but then the edema becomes more dense and tight. It may be painless, it may remain insignificant for a long time, but nevertheless it is dangerous.

2. If you feel stiffness in the shoulder and elbow joints, weakness in the arm.

3. If the swelling increases sharply, rather quickly moving from above over the entire surface of the arm.

4. If the edema becomes, as it were, mosaic: the hand does not swell completely, but in separate areas, starting from the armpit, along the forearm and up to the hand.

When specialist intervention is required. If edema or inflammation still cannot be avoided, treatment should be started immediately on the recommendation of a doctor.

Hardware segmental massage of edematous tissues

Not so long ago, doctors found out that parts of the hand can swell to varying degrees, alternating with healthy areas. This is how local, segmental edema appears. For them, a method of segmental massage and alternate squeezing of the edematous tissues of the hand was developed, which is very effective for mild edema.

Drug therapy

Two groups of drugs are commonly used: benzopyrones, which have a decongestant and anti-inflammatory effect, which improve metabolic processes in tissues and skin resistance, and nicotinic acid preparations, which expand the lumen of the lymphatic vessels and improve blood circulation. Together, this helps to reduce hand swelling. With advanced, already pronounced and rapidly progressing edema, treatment in the clinic is advisable.

What can you do yourself

Do special gymnastics. A set of exercises that your doctor recommends should be done every day. These exercises improve muscle tone, joint mobility, lymph and blood flow. And they reduce the likelihood of developing both edema and inflammation.

Strengthen blood vessels. For this, it is good to take vitamins, especially niacin and B vitamins.

Take care of your skin. So that the skin on your hand does not lose its elasticity, regularly lubricate it with special plant-based cosmetics, natural cosmetic oils - peach, olive, jojoba oil.

Watch your hand. You can even record signs of edema, especially if it changes quickly. There are edema of I, II and III degrees of severity. In case of grade I lymphatic edema, the circumference of the edematous area of ​​one hand does not exceed the circumference of the healthy arm by more than 2 cm.In case of grade II edema, this difference increases to 4 cm, and of grade III - up to 6 cm.

Get an elastic sleeve. It is sold in specialized pharmacies. By covering the area of ​​edema, the sleeve improves lymph drainage and creates a feeling of comfort. The doctor will help you choose the right sleeve size and teach you how to use it. It is recommended to replace the sleeve with a new one every 2-4 months.

Do not load the sore arm with muscle work. Lifting weights, excessive stretching, a long forced position in a state of flexion or extension are contraindicated for her.

Do massage. It is especially effective in the early stages of edema.

Protect your hand from injury. A sore, edematous hand requires increased attention. Wounds, abrasions, bruises, insect bites are contraindicated for her. All this can become an additional focus of infection and intensify pathological processes in the area of ​​edema. The affected arm should never be measured. arterial pressure or get injections and blood tests.

It is also necessary to protect your hand from hot objects, water, direct sunlight.

If the hand is nevertheless accidentally injured, see a doctor and do not refuse to undergo antibiotic treatment, without waiting for inflammation, for prevention. After all, the body's defenses in women who have undergone surgery are depleted, and the likelihood of inflammation is much higher than in healthy ones.