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Numbness around the scar after surgery | CION Cancer Clinics
Numbness around a surgical scar is very common, and it is often not permanent in full. Cutting through skin divides small nerves, and the numb patch usually shrinks slowly as they recover over many months. Some numbness can stay for good, especially after lymph nodes are removed from the armpit or groin. This page explains what to expect, what to report and how to protect skin that cannot feel. CION Cancer Clinics’ surgical oncologists in Hyderabad can talk this through with you.
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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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On this page
- Is numbness around a surgical scar permanent?
- After which operations is numbness most common?
- What should you expect as the months go by?
- Which changes are expected, and which should you report?
- How do you look after skin that cannot feel?
- What do people often get wrong about numbness after surgery?
- Common questions about numbness around a scar
The short answer
Is numbness around a surgical scar permanent?
Often not completely. Numbness around a scar is very common, and the numb patch usually shrinks as nerves slowly recover over many months. Some numbness can stay for good, especially after operations that remove lymph nodes or a large area of tissue.
Why the skin goes numb
Tiny nerves run through the skin and the fat beneath it. Any cut through skin divides some of them. The skin they supplied loses feeling until the nerve ends grow back or nearby nerves take over. This happens after almost every operation, even a small one.
What recovery feels like
As feeling returns, many people notice tingling, prickling, itching, burning or small electric shocks in the area. This can be unpleasant, but it is often a sign that nerves are waking up. The edges of the numb patch usually recover first, and the centre last.
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you whether your own numbness will fully go. That depends on which nerves were cut, your age, and conditions like diabetes. Your surgeon knows what was done during the operation and is the right person to ask.
Numbness on its own is not a sign of infection or that the cancer has come back.Where it happens
After which operations is numbness most common?
Any scar can have a numb area. These operations are the ones where people notice it most, because a larger nerve is often in the way.
Breast and armpit surgery
Removing lymph nodes from the armpit can affect a nerve that supplies the inner upper arm and armpit skin. Numbness there is very common.
You may notice it
- When shaving the armpit
- Along the back of the upper arm
Tummy operations
The skin beside and below a long tummy scar often feels numb or "wooden". It usually shrinks slowly, but a strip beside the scar may stay numb.
Neck operations
After thyroid or neck lymph node surgery, the skin under the chin, or around the ear and jaw, can lose feeling for a long time.
Groin and thigh surgery
Removing lymph nodes from the groin can leave the front of the thigh numb. Take care with hot water and sharp objects on that skin.
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistOver time
What should you expect as the months go by?
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The first few weeks
The numb area is usually at its largest. Swelling around the wound can make it seem bigger than it really is. Pain from the wound itself often hides it at first.
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The first few months
Tingling, pins and needles, itching or shooting feelings may start. The numb patch begins to shrink from its edges. Some days feel better than others.
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Around the end of the first year
Many people have much of their feeling back by now. Whatever numbness is left often changes more slowly from here.
-
After that
Some improvement can still happen well into the second year. Numbness that remains after that is more likely to be lasting, though the brain often gets used to it and people notice it less.
Normal or not
Which changes are expected, and which should you report?
Usually expected
Tell your team
A numb patch near the scar that slowly gets smaller
Numbness that spreads, or appears well after surgery
Tingling, itching or brief shooting pains as feeling returns
Burning pain that stops you sleeping or using the arm
Skin that feels thick or "not your own"
Weakness, a drooping face or trouble moving a limb
Numbness with a calm, healing scar
Numbness with redness, heat, swelling or fluid from the wound
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Day to day
How do you look after skin that cannot feel?
Skin that is numb cannot warn you when it is being hurt. The main job is to protect it from burns, cuts and pressure until feeling returns.
Around the house
Test bath water with a hand that can feel. Do not use a hot water bottle or heating pad on a numb area. Take care near the stove, the pressure cooker and hot vessels if your arm or tummy is numb. Use an electric razor in a numb armpit.
Checking the skin
Look at numb skin every day for cuts, blisters or redness you did not feel happen. Moisturise dry skin once the wound has fully healed, and use sunscreen or cover the scar outdoors.
Getting feeling to settle
Once the wound is healed and your team agrees, gently touching and rubbing the area with different textures, like a soft cloth or cotton wool, can help the brain make sense of the returning feeling. Scar massage often helps too.
When it is more than numbness
If nerve pain is disturbing sleep or daily life, tell your doctor. Medicines such as pregabalin, gabapentin or amitriptyline are sometimes used for nerve pain. Only your doctor can decide whether one suits you.
Commonly believed
What do people often get wrong about numbness after surgery?
"The surgeon must have cut the wrong nerve."
Small skin nerves cannot be avoided when making a cut. In some operations, a nerve runs right through the tissue that has to be removed. Ask your surgeon which nerves were involved in your case.
"Tingling means something is getting worse."
Tingling and pins and needles often mean nerves are recovering. It is only a worry if it comes with weakness, spreading numbness or severe pain.
"If it is not back in a few weeks, it never will be."
Nerves regrow slowly. Feeling can keep returning for well over a year after surgery, so it is too early to judge in the first few weeks.
"Massaging warm oil into it will bring feeling back."
Gentle massage can help once the wound is fully healed. Heat is the problem: numb skin burns easily. Avoid warm oils and hot packs, and never rub an unhealed wound.
Did you know
When a nerve is cut, the part beyond the cut does not come back to life. The nerve regrows from the healthy end, very slowly, which is why feeling returns from the edges of a numb patch inwards and takes so many months.
Questions we are asked
Common questions about numbness around a scar
How long does numbness after surgery last?
It varies a lot. Many people see the numb patch shrink over the first year, and some improvement can continue into the second. Some numbness, especially in the armpit, inner arm or beside a long tummy scar, may stay for good. Your surgeon can tell you what is likely after your operation.
My mother's inner arm is numb after breast surgery. Is that normal?
Yes, it is very common after lymph nodes are removed from the armpit, because a small nerve to that skin runs through the same area. It often improves over months. Tell the team if the arm becomes weak, swollen, red or very painful, because those need checking.
Why does the numb area itch or burn?
As nerves regrow, they can send mixed signals, which the brain reads as itching, burning or tingling. It usually settles as the nerves mature. Gentle touch and moisturiser on healed skin can help. If it is keeping you awake, tell your doctor, as there are treatments for nerve pain.
Can anything speed up the return of feeling?
Nothing makes nerves grow faster. Good sugar control in diabetes, stopping tobacco and staying active help overall healing. Gentle massage and touching the area with different textures, once the wound is healed, help the brain adjust. Vitamin tablets do not bring feeling back unless you are actually short of a vitamin.
Is numbness a sign that the cancer has come back?
Numbness that starts right after surgery and slowly improves is almost always from the cut nerves. New numbness that appears months later, or keeps spreading, should be checked by your doctor. There are several possible causes, and only an examination can tell them apart.
Will radiotherapy or chemotherapy make the numbness worse?
Radiotherapy to the area can make the skin feel different for a while. Some chemotherapy medicines cause numbness or tingling in the hands and feet, which is a separate problem from the scar. Tell your oncologist about any new numbness during treatment.
Is it safe to shave or wax a numb armpit?
Use an electric razor, and wait until the wound has healed fully. You will not feel a nick from a blade, and a small cut can let infection in. Avoid waxing and hair removal creams until your team says it is safe, because numb skin will not warn you of a burn.
The skin near my scar is numb but also painful. How can that be?
A nerve that has been injured can make the skin both dull to touch and sore or burning at the same time. This is called nerve pain. It is common and usually improves, but if it is affecting your sleep or daily life, tell your doctor rather than putting up with it.
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Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
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Dr. Owais Mohammed
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Dr. Muralidhar Muddusetty
MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery) (AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh)
Surgical Oncologist
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Dr. Vinay Mamidala
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MBBS, MS (General Surgery), DrNB (Surgical Oncology), FALS Oncology
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Sources
- National Cancer Institute — Nerve problems and cancer treatment
- NHS — Pins and needles
- Macmillan Cancer Support — Surgery
- Cancer Research UK — Surgery for cancer
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.
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