>I saw a Mom on Friday who was diagnosed with a breast abscess 2 days prior to
>when I saw her. She came to me to discuss the possibility of continuing to
>breastfeed even with abscess.
<<snip>>
>The surgeon, who has a very good rep in this area, advised weaning in no
>uncertain terms. Mom contacted LLL , and was told she could BF even after I&D.
>I basically gave her that same information and we discussed all of her options
>of how to continue.
>She saw surgeon right after me and the surgeon flat out told her NO!

Oh Jane, this poor mum. If having the abscess wasn't enough! We have a
surgeon here, who I heard speak a few years ago about abscesses. He tries
to manage them with repeated aspirations rather than incision & drainage,
but one thing I remember him saying was that he *does not allow the mother
to stop breastfeeding* at least until the whole treatment for the abscess
is resolved. ie the exact opposite to what the surgeon in your area said.

I also looked up what is written in 'Breastfeeding Management in Australia'
- NMAA's book written for health professionals. Here is a quote:
'A true abscess requires surgical drainage as well as antibiotic therapy,
rest and complete emptying of the breast every few hours. (mention of
repeated aspiration)...As the abscess usually remains confined to the
interstitial tissues, milk from the affected side generally remains
uncontaminated. When the surgical incision or drains interfere with sucking
because of their proximity to the areola or if the abscess ruptures into
the ductal system, temporary weaning is necessary. Breastfeeding can
continue on the unaffected side and resume bilaterally as soon as this is
acceptable to mother and baby. (Reference - see below). Not to permit
feeding after surgery greatly increases the chances of poor wound healing
and cessation of lactation. Milk leaking out through the incision may be an
inconvenience, but will not prevent healing.'

Reference mentioned in this section: Banapurmath C et al 1995, Successful
management of breast abscess with ongoing breastfeeding. Indian Pediatr 32:
488-491

And for the repeated aspiration technique: Dixon J 1988, Repeated
aspiration of breast abscesses in lacvtating women. Br Med J 297: 1517-1518


******************************************************************
Joy Anderson B.Sc. Dip.Ed. Grad.Dip.Med.Tech. IBCLC
Nursing Mothers' Association of Australia Breastfeeding Counsellor
Perth, Western Australia.   mailto:[log in to unmask]
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