drainage after panniculectomy

I just had my panniculectomy this past Monday, I was in surgery for about 6 hours and they removed about 15 pounds of skin and fat. Things went well and I am feeling pretty good. I have two drains and  they seem to be staying busy. The color of  what's draining is getting clearer but there is still a red tint to it, nothing like the first day. I have a couple of questions as follow:

1) What should I expect in terms of cc's of drainage per day the first week?

2) What should I expect  the second week?

3) What should I expect the third week?

3) At what point do you empy your drain,  when is half full?  when is full?

4) I have an On Q pump that will last about four days,  it is shrinking quickly, how will I know when is time to pull the tube out? What will the pump look like, I a sure this is helping with pain but it is cumberson to manage this thing, I though they would be about the size of my drains but it was actually almost the size of a softball.

5) I am taking oxicotin, I was given 10 mg every 4 hours but I am managing the pain well with 5mg every 5 hours, if pains is not present and the four hours pass, should I take the pain medication anyway?


One of my big concerns about coming home was the fact that in your bed at home you have nothing to hold on to to get out of bed. There was a medical store at the hospital that offered a fiber glass railing that you could place under the matress, if has come in very handy to get out of bed and has allowed me to do this with out any help.


Thanks to all of you that post great suggestions on this site.

Hello,

I can't offer any help with the pain pump. I never used one. As far as the output from your drains, everyone is different. I had a drain after my tummy tuck but it was only in for a week. Once my output was down to 20 cc in a 24 hour period my surgeon was ready to pull it. I emptied mine before it filed all the way up. The fuller it gets the less suction it will provide. Emptying it when it's halfway might be a good idea. I had to measure my volume for each 24 hours until it was removed.

As far as pain meds, the rule of thumb is normally every 3 to 4 hours AS NEEDED for pain. If you feel you don't need them you certainly don't have to take them. I think you'll find after the pain pump runs out you might want to keep taking them. If not you will be ahead of the game.

Hope your recovery continues to go well!

You will know when the pain pump is empty.  Right now it looks like a ball, when empty, it will not be "ballish" at all.  When you take the pain pump out you don't feel it coming out at all.  ;o))

Good luck to you!!