Drain Questions

I'm new here so hello everyone. I had a central body lift on March 27th. They removed 10 lbs (12 inch belt) of skin from my torso and I'm so happy to have my skin fit my body now!

However, it's been 2 1/2 weeks and I have four JP drains still in and they aren't showing any signs of stopping. They are coming out right above my pubic bone and are sometimes pretty painful. My PS says he won't take them out until they are under 25 ml in 48 hours. Two drains are well below that but the other two are still at around 50 ml and not dropping much. I expected these things to be out in a week, 2 weeks on the outside. It's getting me depressed. They are like shackles. I don't know if I'm moving too much or not enough. I'm drinking plenty of water. The drainage has turned almost completely yellow. There was a couple of clots that came through in the past week... wormy like clots. Other than that, there's no change. I know these are necessary to avoid seromas but it sure seems like a long time to go. How long did any of you have your drains in? What did you notice that made them slow down?


I lost 140 lbs 12 years ago.
Central Body Lift w/Belt Lipectomy March 2009
BL/BA - 2006
Brachioplasty sometime in the near future!

I had drains in for 5 weeks following one of my surgeries. Actually had drains for over 100 days, but that was over several surgeries to fix complications.

Drainage will slow when they are ready to come out. You can help that somewhat by being still, wearing your compression garment/binder, and not doing too much.  Still, sometimes, they have to be taken out and you have to deal with seromas.  Sometimes, seromas can only be fixed by more surgery (wish I did't know this!).  While the drains are like shackles, rememer they are truly your friends and you need them while stuff is coming out.

I had to have my thigh drains pulled at 5 weeks even though they were still putting out over 100cc per day.  Tomorrow, I meet with a lymphedema physical therapist because I still get swelling in my legs from mid thigh to toes at the end of each day that is not resolving. We are trying to prevent chronic lymphedema and hopefully cure transient lymphedema with massage therapy. 

Having drains out too early only brings more issues.

As for dealing with them, keep them stripped, or what ever term they used for you to clear the lines regularly.  Keep the bulb compressed. Think outside the box for things to wear and dfferent ways to secure them. I took the nylon strap from a fanny pack type bag and used that around my waist to hang them for showers or when wearing a dress.  I used sweat pants or scrub pants and put my drains in the pockets.  I tried to live my life as much as I could with drains.  I also learned to put a piece of tape over the opening so they couldn't open on their own and soak me.

Hang in there, they will come out someday!

I was told by my PS that it could be up to 3 weeks on the high end of having the drains but I have heard others say they had to have them longer.  I guess it depends on how your body responds to the surgery.  I just had my tt a week ago and the drains are driving me crazy so I can only imagine what it will be like if I have to have them in for a while.  But why don't you have your Dr. pull out the two that aren't putting out much anymore?  He should be willing to do that, they shouldn't have to all stay in until the last one is done.  Maybe having 2 instead of 4 will help some.

Good luck and hang in there.

Absolutely call if they are under his recommended amount and have those out.  The two in the vjj area are the most painful and were the first 2 to come out for me.  The others slow with time, and healing really that's all they can do, I stripped mine every time I thought about it, they eventually slowed until the last one started pulling out and then he took it out very reluctantly.  I was lucky I didn't swell too badly after that. 

Just talk with your dr, keep documenting your drainage and definitely keep the worms cleared out!  You will be ok, just hang in there.  Everyone heals at a different rate.  Some people say inactivity will make the drains slow, but then when you start moving again they pick back up - so my dr said not to be inactive, that it could cause other problems...

I agree with what all the others are saying. My last two drains came out at 3 weeks. One of them was still producing about 34 cc's in 24 hours. Yes, they are annoying and messy and painful if you yank them the wrong way, but they are so important.

To get rid of the extra fluid in my body, I have been drinking 8-12 ounces of ho****er mixed with the juice of a fresh squeezed lemon and a little bit of organic cane sugar. I swear that has really helped. When I miss a day, I'm much more swollen and miserable. Try that to help flush out the fluids in your body.

Regina

i had an extended tummy tuck with lipo and still have one drain and today is week 4. very frustrating as to i ripped a couple of the sutures the other night fromt he drain. its still attatched with a couple sutures but makes it more painful. i have a huge even coming up this saturday and was so hoping it would be out by now...but not sure. still pumping at 60 in a 24 hour period...

I had 3 drains originally and 2 came out at 3 weeks and the other one at 4 weeks. Don't get impatient, fluid buildup is worse than the drains, although they sure can be annoying. I taped my lines together and put them in a baggy and pinned them to my binder. Hang in there, they will eventually come out!!