Drains....Grrrrrr!

I had a circumferential body lift and breast lift on December 11th...4 weeks ago today.  Initially, I had four drains: two groin, one in each thigh.  One of the groin drains was particularly painful, and I was thankful that they were gone after 7 days.  But these darned thigh drains...4 weeks!?! One is at 25 for the past two 24-hour periods and will finally come out this afternoon, but the other one is still putting out 40.  Doc told me on Tuesday that if I really wanted them out, he'd take them but couldn't guarantee I wouldn't have to have needle aspiration later.  He did say he'd didn't see a problem pulling them at 35 instead of 30.  So, I'm 5 away from where I need to be on a Friday afternoon.  His nurse told me on the phone she will not pull the 40 when I come in today. Maybe Monday or Tuesday.  (The office is an hour's drive each way.)  I am so sick of these things,;the one that won't be coming out is starting to be very uncomfortable, and a month of sponge baths and washing my hair in the kitchen sink is old.  God, what I wouldn't give for a luxurious hot shower and be able to wear "normal" clothing again.

I hate these things! (I feel like the Borg Queen!)

Thanks for letting me vent.

Terri

I hear your pain. I had a panniculectomy on November 30 and have two drains on my hip and they are still producing between 40 and 50 cc each. I have an appointment a week from this coming Tuesday and I hope I can get them out by then. I have discussed this with my surgeon and she said the same thing, if we pull them out before getting t 30 cc or less,  I could risk seromas and have to have them aspirated or worst yet have them reinserted which is quite an involved procedure which is usually done by a radiologist with the use of guided ultrasound. I am sure this is not fun.  In essence the ultrasound provides an image of where the drain is going so they can reinsert it without damaging anything and so they can place it in the correct location.

I would suggest you stick to the drain until you get to 30cc, I now it can be a pain but once you get there hopefully you won't have to deal with seromas.

Take care and hope for the best.
 

Wow.  November 30th, now I feel like a whiner!  I'll keep a good thought for you that yours come out very soon.

Terri

So your PS doesn't allow showers with drains in? I was able to shower 3 days out with all 4 drains in still. I was told to take short showers and not le****er continuously flow over wounds though. I would use a laynard to clip the drains..take a quick shower and wash hair without issue. Good luck with getting those suckers out soon!

I had a panni and two drains.  One came out on its own and I got a seroma that had to be aspirated 6 times.  The good news is that it does not hurt at all.  You can't even feel the needle go in. 

I also got an infection, probably from the drain area.  Ugly - but all is well know and just waiting for my lymphatic system to reconnect so that I will be totally flat.  Doc said in about 3 months - close to pool time. Yea

My surgeon gave me some self adhesive saran wrap like material to put over the drains, which formed little "tent" like protections for them and allowed me to take quick showers.

I feel your pain. I had my thigh drains for 4 and the final one for 6 weeks.  I was lucky however that my Dr. allowed me to take showers after 2 days. I would have been in serious trouble since I had to go back to work at 4 weeks and still had a drain for 2 weeks after that. Let me tell you that is no fun having to wear dress clothes and have a drain still in your thigh. After the 4 week the remaining drain in my thigh really began to hurt. By week 6 I did fudge my numbers just a bit to get the darn thing out. It was slowing down but not enough to satisfy me so I'm glad I didn't get a seroma by having them take it out a little early.

Sonya

Omg...I cant imagine not being able to take a shower while I had my drains....my dr had me takeing 2 a day and using Hibiclense on them every other time. I would have been ready to pull my hair out after a few days if I hadn't been able to shower! I had my surgery at 7 am and at about 4am the next morning they had me up and getting into the shower at the hospital even. I'm so going to be praying for you get your drains out soon!!

Thanks so much everyone for your support.  I now have one drain left.  My doc won't allow a shower for 24 hours after the last drain is removed, but I'm thinking of Saran wrap and duct tape!

Happy Weekend  Everybody!

Terri

Just think it's winter and by the time the weather gets better you will be ready to show your sexy self! I know those drains are a pain. I always had one in my thigh when I had my knee done. 

Kelly