Medical Oncologist
After your operation
Bathing, dressing and wound care in the first weeks
Keep the wound clean and dry, follow the showering instructions you were given, leave the dressing alone unless told otherwise, and look at it daily. Most breast wounds need very little active care, and the watching matters more than the doing. This page covers washing, clothing, and how the scar changes over the first year.
MM
Medically reviewed by Dr. Muralidhar MuddusettyConsultant Surgical Oncologist · MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery, AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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The short answer
How do I look after the wound at home?
Keep it clean and dry, follow the specific instructions you were given about showering, leave the dressing alone unless told otherwise, and look at it daily. Most breast wounds need very little active care. The watching matters more than the doing.
Why the instructions differ between women
Dressings, showering advice and when stitches come out all vary by unit and by operation. A woman who had reconstruction has different rules from one who had a lumpectomy. Where anything here conflicts with what your team said, follow theirs.
What healing normally looks like
A thin pink line at the wound edge, some bruising spreading downwards with gravity, and a little clear or blood-tinged ooze in the first days. The area feels firm and slightly lumpy underneath for weeks, which is scar tissue rather than a problem.
What you are actually watching for
Redness spreading outwards rather than staying at the edge, heat, increasing pain, thick or smelly discharge, or the wound edges separating. Those, particularly with a fever, mean ringing the same day.
Look at the wound in good light every day. On numb skin you will see a problem long before you feel it.Washing
Showering and keeping clean
Wait for the go-ahead
Usually a day or two, depending on your dressing and whether a drain is in place. Some dressings are waterproof and some are not. Ask before you leave hospital rather than guessing.
Shower rather than bathe
Do not soak the wound in a bath, a pool or the sea until it is fully healed. Running water over it briefly is fine once you have been told you can; sitting in water is not.
Let water run over, do not scrub
No soap directly on the wound, no flannel, no rubbing. Plain water running over the area is enough. Scrubbing damages healing skin and achieves nothing.
Pat dry, carefully
Pat rather than rub, with a clean towel, and make sure the area is properly dry including underneath the breast where moisture collects.
Redress only if instructed
Many wounds are left open to the air once healed enough. If you were given dressings, change them as shown, with clean hands, and do not reuse anything.
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistDay to day
Clothing, bras and the practical side
Small choices here prevent most of the everyday irritation.
Front-opening tops
Pulling anything over your head needs exactly the arm movement that hurts most. Buttoned or zipped tops make dressing possible without help in the first weeks.
A soft, non-wired bra
Front-fastening, no underwire, no tight seams over the wound. Many units advise wearing one day and night early on, because supporting the weight reduces pulling.
Ask your breast care nurse what to buy and when.Watch the skin under the breast
Moisture collects in the fold and the skin there breaks down easily, particularly in humid weather. Dry it properly and check it when you check the wound.
Leave the scar alone at first
No creams, oils or massage until the wound has fully closed and your team says so. Applying anything to a healing wound adds infection risk rather than helping.
Do not apply
- Turmeric, oils or poultices
- Antiseptic creams unless prescribed
- Talcum powder anywhere near it
Side by side
Normal healing, and reasons to ring
Expected
Ring the ward the same day
A thin pink line right at the wound edge
Redness spreading outwards across the skin
Bruising travelling downwards, changing colour
The area hot to touch, with fever or shivering
A little clear or blood-tinged ooze early on
Thick, cloudy or foul-smelling discharge
Firmness and lumpiness under the scar
The wound edges separating
Itching as it heals
Pain that is increasing rather than easing
Talk to our team
Have a question about your situation?
Call the helpline or leave your details, and someone will help you arrange a consultation at the CION centre nearest you. One helpline serves every CION centre.
Call 1800 202 8726
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Words you will hear
The vocabulary, in plain language
- Dissolvable sutures
- Stitches that disappear on their own. Common in breast surgery, so nothing needs removing.
- Steri-strips
- Thin adhesive strips across the wound. They lift off on their own after a week or two; do not peel them early.
- Dehiscence
- The wound edges separating. Uncommon, and a reason to be seen the same day.
- Hypertrophic scar
- A raised, thickened scar staying within the original line. Common and treatable.
- Keloid
- Scar tissue growing beyond the original wound. More common in some skin types, and worth mentioning before surgery if you scar this way.
- Scar massage
- Gentle massage once fully healed, to soften scar tissue and improve how it moves. Started only when your team agrees.
Longer term
How the scar will change
Scars look their worst at around six to eight weeks, when they are red, raised and firm. That is the point most women conclude the result is permanent. It is not; scars keep improving for a year or more.
What helps once it has healed
Gentle massage with a plain moisturiser, once your team confirms the wound is fully closed, keeps the scar soft and mobile. Silicone gels or sheets help some raised scars. Ask before starting either.
Keep it out of the sun
New scars darken permanently if exposed to sun in the first year, which matters in strong sunlight. Keep the area covered or use a high protection factor once healed.
If the result bothers you later
Raised, tethered or uncomfortable scars can be treated, and being unhappy with how it looks is a legitimate reason to ask. Wait until it has matured, then raise it rather than assuming nothing can be done.
Commonly believed
What people do to help a wound heal
Turmeric paste or coconut oil will speed healing.
Applying anything to an open surgical wound adds an infection risk rather than removing one. Traditional remedies have their place and a healing incision is not it. Once fully closed, a plain moisturiser for massage is fine.
The wound should be kept covered and dry at all times.
Many breast wounds are deliberately left open to the air once healed enough, and most units allow showering within a day or two. Follow your own instructions, which depend on your dressing and your operation.
This lumpy, hard area means something is wrong.
Firmness and lumpiness under a healing scar is scar tissue and, after reconstruction, sometimes fat necrosis. Both are harmless. Any genuinely new lump appearing later, once things have settled, should still be checked.
The scar looks terrible, so that is how it will stay.
Scars look their worst at six to eight weeks and keep improving for a year or more. Judging the result at that point is the commonest source of unnecessary distress. If it still bothers you once mature, treatment exists.
Questions we are asked
Common questions about wound care
When can I have a proper bath?
Not until the wound is fully healed, which is usually a few weeks rather than days. Soaking softens a healing wound and raises the infection risk. Showering is generally allowed much sooner, and your team will say when.
The steri-strips are peeling. Should I pull them off?
No. Let them lift off on their own, which usually takes a week or two. Pulling them early can disturb the wound edge. If one is hanging loose and catching on clothing, trim the loose part rather than removing the whole strip.
Can I use scar cream?
Once the wound is completely closed and your team agrees. A plain moisturiser used for gentle massage does most of the work. Silicone gels or sheets help some raised scars. Nothing should go on before the wound has healed.
My scar is itchy. Is that a problem?
Itching is a normal part of healing and of nerves recovering. Do not scratch it. Once healed, moisturising helps. What is not normal is itching with spreading redness, heat or discharge.
When do the stitches come out?
Many breast wounds use dissolvable stitches so nothing needs removing. Where they do need taking out it is usually around the end of the first or second week. Ask before discharge so the appointment is booked.
Can I use deodorant under that arm?
Not until the wound has fully healed and your team says so, particularly after armpit surgery. During radiotherapy there are separate rules about what you can use on the treated skin, so ask your radiotherapy team too.
What if the wound opens slightly?
Ring the ward the same day. Cover it with a clean dry dressing and do not apply anything to it. Small separations often heal with dressings alone, but it needs assessing rather than watching.
I scar badly. Can anything be done in advance?
Tell your surgeon before the operation if you form thick or keloid scars. It can influence where and how they close, and they can plan early treatment. It is much easier to raise beforehand than to correct afterwards.
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MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery) (AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh)
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Talk to our team
Speak to a breast cancer specialist
Call the helpline or leave your details, and someone will help you arrange a consultation at the CION centre nearest you. One helpline serves every CION centre.
Call 1800 202 8726
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Sources
- Cancer Research UK — Recovering from breast cancer surgery
- National Cancer Institute — Surgery to treat cancer
- Breast Cancer Now — Wound care after breast surgery
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.