drain??

i hear a lot of people with lap ryn having a drain for a few days to a week or so what is it ? dose everyone have it? no one has mentioned it to me

Hi Frank. I currently have a drain from my Lap RNY on the 19th. It drains excessive fluids from around you incisions. They teach you how to empty it and you have to keep record of the amount of fliud until you return to the doctor for them to remove it.

dose it hurt? is it gross ? where is it ? why did my dr. not mention this ? with lap rny is it mandatory ? sorry for all the questions i dont know why but this seems to have me a little freaked out

Stay calm Frank! For me it doesn't really hurt. Kind of a soreness at first now nothing. Mine is on the left side right under my breast, which is also very close where my largest incision is. I know that drainage tubes are put in place for a lot of open and some laproscopic procedures. It is not really gross per say it is just a bit weird to see a tube coming out of your body. But the tube is getting out fluids that I believe might cause you to not heal as properly. HTH.

Hi Frank, I had 5 small incisions and no drain, it is different with everyone. Calm your mind over this or you're going to be so stressed by the time you have surgery that you won't heal as well. I can understand your uncertainty though, I had a period of about a week where I was going nuts over the whole thing but then calmed down about a week before surgery and I'm doing great. Best of Luck, Shelia

hi Frank, I had my lap RNY at Emerson Hospital. My surgeon told me that of the three surgeons in her group that one uses drains and the other two don't. Give your center a call on Tuesday or pose this question to patients of your doctor on the Mass. forum. good luck, Jayne (RNY 5/14)

Frank, I had a drain the first 4 days in the hospital and they said I might have to go home with it if the consistency wasn't like watered down koolaide but fortunately by the time I left the Doc took it out. The drain is there just to let them know how your are healing and I guess they can tell if you have a leak with it as well. It is painless you won't even know its there. You just have to keep the wound site clean after the drain has been removed. Hope this helps and good luck. Tammy

I had a drain... it was pretty gross. It didn't really hurt... except it was the most "squeemy" experience I ever had when it came out. Mine was uncomfortable and it leaked a lot, but there were other more painful things I was worried about! Don't worry about it... in the end it was just another thing

Not everyone has a drain...it depends on how much bleeding you did while in surgery and other facotrs. Some Dr.'s always do it and some just do a wick. I had a wick and a drain because of a small compication during surgery. It being there doesn't hurt...its like a flexable hose thats about a 1/4" thick that is held in place with stiches and a staple or two on either side. When they pulled it out I had mild discomfort that lasted only while they were taking it out. The nurse had me hit my pain pump before and the Dr. said why it doesn't hurt.... I said to him "Have you ever had one?" he tried telling me yes... I hit the pain pump and it still stung a bit...and I then called him a liar... I didn't like the resident anyways. He was a young no-it-all. Anyways don't worry about it its not anything to get yourself stressed over.

I did not have a drain and thank god for that. It was smooth sailing for me and my surgery so no drain was needed. I did have the pain ball and that started leaking out on day 3 so they took it out and I was fine from then on. The only thing that hurt was the heparin shots after they removed the ball.