Hi Lauren, I had my op last Tuesday and my sternum was swollen from 2nd day post op and I am really badly bruised. I could tell it was fluid at the bottom part of my sternum because it was squashy, I wasn’t really sore, just felt stretched and bruised.
i’m day 5 now and swelling has gone, just lots of purple and yellow bruising ( lovely ) Its really important to take the ibuprofen as it is an anti inflammatry. I stupidly reduced my pain killers on day 2 because i could cope with the pain, i didnt realise that ibuprofen helps reduce the swelling. Also ice packs help loads. xxx good luck and I am sure your swelling will go down soon xx
