Tammy, I am sending you a post (below) that I received in 1998. It tells about a woman's dealing with leaking of an incision after surgery. I had a client who had an abscess that was surgically removed and who had leaking from the incision for a couple of weeks( not as much as the woman in the story below). She used sanitary napkins to soak up the milk. The opening was fully healed within about 2 1/2 weeks. The antibacterial properties in breastmilk wash the site clean, protecting it from infection better than if she were not leaking. I have other posts from Lactnetters but I can't discover under what subjects I filed them. They were all positive about the healing of an incision after a week or two of leaking milk. So assure the mother that her incision will heal and will heal more effectively if she continues to feed on that side. Weaning could end with a painful breast at best and an abcess at worst. Pat Gima, IBCLC Miwaukee, Wisconsin _____________________________ When my son was 7 weeks old I found a pea-sized lump fairly high up in my right breast. My mother had died of cancer while I was pregnant and my aunt was dying of breast cancer. I was sick with worry. I was booked to have the lump removed after a suspicious ultrasound showing solid particles within fluid in the lump. While I don't know that I would do anything different in hindsight, I want women to know about complications with surgery on the lactating breast. When the surgeon opened the breast it was immediately obvious that I simply had a galactocele - milk retention cyst - probably caused by a blocked duct and no concern. Of course I was greatly relieved! The surgeon tried to be very careful removing the cyst as to not damage ducts. Because the site was so high - about where the clasp is to undo the cup on the bra to nurse (maybe that's what caused it?) he felt I would not have any complications with breastfeeding. WRONG! By the next day I had a plum sized lump in the area of surgery - milk was backing up. The incision site opened in the centre the following day and began to leak milk. Every time I had a let down or nursed, milk was leaking from the incision site. The surgeon said that while risk of infection was likely low due to milk's inherent antibacterial properties, I would have to keep the site clean and dry. This was next to impossible. I wore gauze pads taped over the site and changed them whenever they were wet...constantly. Night nursing was always wet. A week passed. The surgical site had healed leaving an open hole about 2 mm in diameter. It was determined that milk was backing up through a duct damaged in surgery and was taking the path of least resistance out the hole. I understand that this is called a "sinus tract". I was raw from the tape that held the dressing in place. Every time we nursed I would have to change the dressing and peel off the tape. A 2 month old nurses almost constantly. The surgeon was dismissive. He said "wean - you'll never heal - and besides your baby has already reaped most of the benefits of breastfeeding". I could have hit him! My son was only 2 months old!! I think I was in such shock that I didn't even answer him. I stumbled out of his office. My mind was whirling but I knew that weaning wasn't a possibility. I went in search of my own information. I called La Leche League and spoke to a leader who was keen to help me find information and was encouraging. I saw and talked to 3 different lactation consultants, one an MD with special interest in breastfeeding. She was angry that the surgeon had not considered a needle aspiration of the lump before surgery. She recommended that I try to wean to the other breast to reduce the pressure in that side, hoping that it might allow the hole to heal. If it worked I could relactate on that breast later. I tried to wean to one breast. I tried cabbage leaves which didn't help me. That breast is my big producer and Sean's favorite. I noticed little reduction in supply in spite of reducing the number and length of Sean's nursings on that side. A let down to nurse even on the other side still caused milk to gush from the hole. A week passed. I gave up trying to play around with my supply. I was resigned to nurse on both breasts as long as I could hang in there. I was so greatful for being able to nurse Sean. He was a much longed for baby that came after many losses and almost 10 years after the birth of his sister. Nursing was so much a part of the way I mothered that I couldn't imagine not nursing my child. An early weaning for us would have been another huge loss and one that I was not prepared to even consider. I was just going to take it one day at a time. And so I began. 2 weeks to the day of the incision splitting open I noticed the hole seemed smaller - by that night it was closed over. It healed! 25 months later I have an ugly scar and a happy nursing child! In some ways I'm proud of that scar - it's like a war wound that I earned. I have a story to tell about it, much like my grandpa proudly sharing stories about his scars to me as a child. It's a sign of the power of my body and a testament to the amazing breast! As for the surgeon, when I was healed I went back to talk to him. He said he still felt that he wouldn't have done anything different if he had it to do over again, but I think that was just to cover his ass. I took delight in showing him he was wrong about weaning and sat there nursing to prove it. -- Carolyn, mom to Sean 2 and Brittany 11 years Mailto:[log in to unmask] *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html