Not so inspired by the "aspiration"

Hi All,

Today was the day for my much anticipated aspiration of hematoma! (I have NO idea if that is the correct vocabulary, but it's working for me). :)
I have been very uncomfortable with a hematoma that formed a week or so after surgery in my right breast, it runs along the bottom inscision line and is pushing fairly hard against the skin (i.e., its all swollen and gross)
After chipping 1/2 inch of ice off of my car this morning (THAT felt great on my recovering breasts), I headed over to pickup my good friend Tracy (thanks Trace!) and away we went to Mercy Mammography.

They did another ultrasound and could see the hematoma running almost the length of the breast....it was very interesting to watch it on the screen, of course it looked GIGANTIC to me!
The radiologist came in and said that she could probably get enough out to send to pathology to test for infection, but it was "honeycombed" so she wouldn't be able to drain the entire thing. This apparently meant that the blood had started to clot and was not all liquid and removable anymore.

She numbed the area with a small shot (felt like a mosquito bite) and inserted what was basically a straw attached to a needle. I could see this enter the hematoma on the screen....she also tried to "break up" some of the clots, which I gotta say, made me a little queasy as I watched!

So what did she get out? Not much. Enough to test, but that's about it. On the good side, though, she did say that it didn't appear to have any infection.

Soooo.....now what?

Now, I get to wait for it to resolve on it's own, which is a real bummer, because the pressure is more than a little bothersome! But, like i told the doc....this was not the worst news I had gotten about my right breast in the last month! :)

In the meantime, I will be checking with the cancer center here in Des Moines to see if they have a Genetic Oncologist who can perhaps get me in faster than UAMS. Onwards and upwards!

Love and hope,
Margaret