Signs of Infection

You should be extremely proud of yourself once you return home, as you’ve made it through significant surgery and the first critical days of recovery.

In the weeks ahead, it is important that keep a close eye on both your new breast and your donor site to ensure they are healing well and there are no signs of infection.

Monitoring Your Breast and Surgery Incisions

Check your breast and all incisions daily for signs and symptoms of infection and contact your plastic surgery nurse or the plastics resident on-call immediately if you observe the following changes to your breast or incision:

  • Increased size

  • Increased firmness

  • Cool temperature to skin

  • Change in color

  • Incision line separation

Check your incision for:

  • Increased warmth or spreading redness of the skin near a site

  • Increased swelling

  • Increased pain or tenderness

  • Increased discharge at site (creamy yellow/green)

  • Foul smelling odor

  • Fever or chills

  • Elevated temperature greater than 38°C

Preventing Blood Clots

To prevent blood clotting it is important to do short periods of light activity, such as walking at least five to six times a day.   Blood clots that develop in the legs could break off and travel to the heart or longs and become potentially fatal.

Seek medical attention immediately if you have:

  1. Pain or swelling in your legs

  2. Difficulty breathing or shortness in breath

  3. Coughing up blood

  4. Chest pain

  5. Anxiety

Questions and Concerns

If you have any questions or concerns do not hesitate to contact your Plastic Surgery nurse.

For urgent concerns after hours or on weekends please call HSC paging at 787-2071 and ask to speak with the Plastic Surgery Resident on call or come to the Health Sciences Centre Emergency Department.