Recovery from Lumpectomy: What to Expect

If you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer and you’re considering a lumpectomy, you may be wondering how long you may need to take off from work, driving, and other activities after the surgery.   

A lumpectomy involves removing a tumor from the breast and a small amount of tissue surrounding the tumor. It leaves most of the breast tissue intact. Often, one or more sentinel lymph nodes near the armpit are also removed during the surgery.

Most people who have lumpectomy have general anesthesia, but some may have IV sedation and a local anesthetic to numb the area. The surgery often takes less than two hours, and many people leave the hospital on the same day.

The time it takes to fully recover after a lumpectomy varies from person to person. While most people feel sore and tired right after surgery, many are able to resume activities that don’t involve heavy lifting within a few days. For those who have a more extensive procedure (for instance, an oncoplastic lumpectomy and/or removal of multiple lymph nodes), recovery can take a few weeks or more.

Many people can return to work within a few days to one week after a lumpectomy. But the timing can vary depending on the type of work you do, how extensive your surgery was, your overall health, and other factors. Some people need to take two to three weeks or more off.

Before you leave the hospital, your surgical team should give you instructions on what you can expect to do once you are home. If you have any questions about these instructions before or after surgery, ask your healthcare team. If you have a caregiver, they may want to read about how to help support you after the surgery.  

You’ll likely receive pain medication when you wake up from surgery, and you may get a prescription for pain medication from your surgeon when you leave the hospital. Some people who have lumpectomy are able to manage any discomfort with acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and ice. 

It's possible to feel a mixture of numbness and pain around the surgery area in the breast (and the armpit incision, if the surgeon removed any lymph nodes). If you feel pain, take the medication your doctor prescribed according to the instructions you received. Learn more about managing pain and armpit discomfort.

Keep in mind that you may have other sensations in the surgery area besides pain. As nerves regrow, you may feel an itchy or a crawling sensation, and you may be very sensitive to touch.

When you get home from the hospital, it’s normal to feel fatigued so it’s a good idea to get plenty of rest. If after a few days you still feel too tired to return to your regular routine, there are a number of ways you can manage fatigue.

Most people can start driving after a lumpectomy as soon as they are no longer taking strong pain medication and they can use their arm without pain. For some people, this is within a couple of days and for others it can be a few weeks. Check with your medical team about when it would be safe for you to start driving.

Your surgeon may say that you can remove the bandages after a certain period of time (such as 48 hours) or may remove the bandages themselves during the first follow-up visit. If you have oncoplastic lumpectomy, you can expect to have larger bandages and possibly a special support bra, depending on the extent of your surgery.

During the surgery, the surgeon might have inserted a rubber tube called a drain into your breast area or armpit to collect excess fluid that can accumulate in the space where the tumor was. If so, your surgical team may remove the drain before you leave the hospital. Sometimes, however, the drain remains in place until the first follow-up visit with the doctor — usually one to two weeks after surgery. If your drain has to stay in place until your first follow-up visit, you need to empty the fluid from the detachable drain bulb a few times a day. Your surgical team should give you instructions about how to care for the drain. 

If you have a drain, you may need to take sponge baths until it is removed. If you don’t have a drain, you should be able to shower 48 hours after surgery, as long as you keep incisions clean, dry, and covered with gauze.

Most surgeons use stitches (sutures) that dissolve after some time, so there’s no longer any need to have them removed. It’s possible to see the end of a suture poking out of the incision like a whisker — but your surgeon can easily remove it. Your surgical team should explain what the signs of an infected incision are and when and how to contact the office. Learn more about lumpectomy complications to look out for.

Wear a good sports or support bra only if your doctor says you can. Wearing a supportive bra day and night for some time can minimize any movement that might cause pain. If you have larger breasts, you may find it more comfortable to sleep on the side that has not been operated on, with your healing breast supported by a pillow in front of you. People who have oncoplastic lumpectomy surgery get a special support bra from their surgical team.

There are activity recommendations and restrictions for you to follow after your surgery. Your surgeon should give you written, illustrated instructions on how to do simple after-surgery arm exercises to prevent arm and shoulder stiffness on the side where you had the lumpectomy. You can usually start the exercises the morning after surgery. Your surgeon also should let you know which exercises to avoid until your drains are removed or your incisions are more healed.

It’s also important to follow the surgical team’s advice and walk around as much as possible, as long as you limit lifting, pushing, or pulling with the arm on the affected side.

 

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