Doesn't she have a drain tube placed? A comfortable supportive bra, but nothing that compresses or restricts normal expansion is best. Just need the tube pointing away from the nipple and lots of absorbent pads covering to allow manageable draining as it heals from inside, and to keep little hands off the incision. This from personal experience for a biopsy on what turned out to be a huge plugged duct. Regular bandage changes were messy at first but manageable as it slowly healed. Phyllis ---- Breastfeeding Help <[log in to unmask]> wrote: ============= Ladies~ I have ptp, working with a mother who is breastfeeding her 4th child who is nearly 3. Mother has a hx of intraductal papilloma (13 yrs ago, was surgically removed). Found 2 palpable masses in same breast, had them surgically removed by a breast expert, path showed they were more papillomas. Now, mother is having issues w/ milk collecting in the breast from the presumably severed ducts. The Dr drained about 1 ounce of blood/ milk last Friday (surgery was Tuesday, so 3 days later), asked mother to come back in today and drained again, this time got 1.5 ounces of mostly milk w/ blood. The concern is the damaged ducts will continue to produce milk that will drain into the space it created within the breast. The Dr today recommended a pressure bandage to try and help the milk take the "path of least resistance" and re-route ducts/ milk to the nipple. Has anyone had any experience with this type of thing? The Dr said it takes 4-6 weeks for the ducts to heal and/or close so this could continue to go on for several weeks. Do you think the pressure bandage is a good idea? My concerns are that continued pressure would cause more problems (possibly a plugged duct). I thought maybe cabbage leaf compresses would help relieve the swelling and help decrease supply. Mother is ok w/ reducing supply on that side or even weaning off that side, but wants to continue breastfeeding as long as possible (mother practices child led weaning and has hx of bf long past 3 years). Are there any herbal compresses that would help? Thank you for any insight! -- Julie Huisjen, IBCLC Leader, LLL of Tehachapi/ Bakersfield ACLA S CA/ NV [log in to unmask] http://www.lllusa.org/web/TehachapiCA.html *********************************************** -- Phyllis Adamson, BA, IBCLC, RLC Glendale, AZ. [log in to unmask] *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome