Is Seroma On Left Shin Due To Tissue Damage?

Posted on Wed, 20 Nov 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 20 Nov 2013 Answered on

Tue, 17 Dec 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : I have a seroma that was about the size of a golf ball on my lower left shin and ankle from a gal on the edge of a bathtub two monfths ago. I had a vascular surgeon drain it 1 week ago but about half the size came right back. It appears that there is some possible tissue damage and my doctor feels that we need to put a drain in surgically for a duration of 2 weeks after having a venous ultra sound done. My question is, do you think that we are doing this too soon. I have a positive ANA count as an indicator for Lupus.

Answered by Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar (23 hours later)

Brief Answer: No defined time line. Detailed Answer: Hi Sorry for the delay. It seems they waited for the vascular surgeon to answer this query since they are busy. They let me answer this query who earlier worked under a vascular surgeon for an year. My opinion is that your vascular is surgeon is right. You can proceed with drainage again after the venous ultrasound once they made sure that there is no communication with the vessels. There is in fact no timeline described in literature to insert a drain. Since there is a recurrence that means there is still pocket (space) for the serous fluid to jam in it. Only after the drainage the space can be filled in with a sclerozing agent. This time let him put the sclerozing agent into the pocket along with the closed suction drain and seal it. Recurrence of the seroma delay the healing and it requires surgical excision of the capsule. Thank you for giving me the opportunity.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar