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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Does Swelling In The Underarm After Removal Of Lymph Nodes Indicate?

2 lymph nodes were removed from under my arm to check for melanoma. There is swelling under arm and have been using heat per doctors orders. Doctor drained the incision but there is still some swelling. Is there anything besides heat I can do to help swelling go down?
Fri, 23 Mar 2018
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General & Family Physician 's  Response
Hello,

I think that the swelling is due to a normal reaction of the body to the trauma that occurred in that area: Removing of a body part is a trauma for the organism and, as such, it reacts through various ways. One of them includes excessive fluids which have to be taken away by the lymphatic system.

In your case, excessive fluids have overcome the lymphatic system ability to absorb them, thus causing swelling. In order to manage your swelling, please do the following:
1. Stop the heating of the affected area.

2. Do some stretching exercises for the arm and hand. Preferably you have to talk to your doctor about it, but still, you can do some simple moves. For example: slowly stretch your arm and fingers, and then slowly and gently retract fingers, and make a fist. Do this exercise 10-15 times and then rest, and repeat the whole thing several times a day.

3. When you sleep to put your arm above your body level (or at least at the same level) but not below it. You can rest it on pillows for example. It will help the lymphatic system to do its job. How high your arm should be will have to be decided by your doctor, because even too high it is not good. Usually, it is a little higher.

4. Avoid tight clothing or elastic clothes, heavy lifting, etcetera. As they could enhance swelling by blocking the circulation of blood and lymph.

5. Also, take all other general measures to protect your arm from any kind of injury.

These measures should cause the swelling to reduce gradually, but this process could last for several weeks (up to six weeks), and therefore you need to be patient. If no change after such measures, then you have to consult again with your doctor and another round of drainage could be needed.


Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,
Dr. Ervin Toçi
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What Does Swelling In The Underarm After Removal Of Lymph Nodes Indicate?

Hello, I think that the swelling is due to a normal reaction of the body to the trauma that occurred in that area: Removing of a body part is a trauma for the organism and, as such, it reacts through various ways. One of them includes excessive fluids which have to be taken away by the lymphatic system. In your case, excessive fluids have overcome the lymphatic system ability to absorb them, thus causing swelling. In order to manage your swelling, please do the following: 1. Stop the heating of the affected area. 2. Do some stretching exercises for the arm and hand. Preferably you have to talk to your doctor about it, but still, you can do some simple moves. For example: slowly stretch your arm and fingers, and then slowly and gently retract fingers, and make a fist. Do this exercise 10-15 times and then rest, and repeat the whole thing several times a day. 3. When you sleep to put your arm above your body level (or at least at the same level) but not below it. You can rest it on pillows for example. It will help the lymphatic system to do its job. How high your arm should be will have to be decided by your doctor, because even too high it is not good. Usually, it is a little higher. 4. Avoid tight clothing or elastic clothes, heavy lifting, etcetera. As they could enhance swelling by blocking the circulation of blood and lymph. 5. Also, take all other general measures to protect your arm from any kind of injury. These measures should cause the swelling to reduce gradually, but this process could last for several weeks (up to six weeks), and therefore you need to be patient. If no change after such measures, then you have to consult again with your doctor and another round of drainage could be needed. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Ervin Toçi