Finally Home! & Drain Issue (Xpost)

I finally made it home from MX!  It was a LONG 2 days.  There were no issues with security at any airport!  I was very happy to just be in my own bed.

I'm having an issue with my adbomial drain.  It started coming out a little while I was in MX & Dr. S said I had to be careful because my output is still 70ml/day that the drain stays in.  I'm okay with that & understand the importance.  My issue is, during the night last night, it came out far enough to pull the stitch out of the skin!  Now I can pu**** back in, & I taped it up to try & keep it in, but it still works it's way out again.  I'm freaked out about it.  I emailed Dr. S & his direct quote:

"You have to be very careful about the drain, right now this can not be
out yet, because of it's output, and if it came out the most common
thigh to happen is a seroma, so, please take a very good care on this
drain.
This is my best advice."

I understand that, but how can I keep it in?  I feel twinges when I sit or stand, now I'm really freaking because eariler my drain wouldn't keep the suction - I figured out the drain had worked out far enough to stop the suction!  I worked it back in & got the suction back, taped it up - does anyone have any good ideas of how to keep that sucker in??

As always, THANK YOU for being here, listening, supporting & suggesting. 

If the tape isn't holding it in, contact your doctor who was going to support you here and have it stitched in again.  I had to do this with one.  Another one was about to come out when the suture pulled out, and it was removed a few days after the stitch pulled out - i had been keeping it taped at the insertion point, then again in a loop a few inches down to avoid it being pulled.   If it works its way out too far, it will lose suction, and while you can pu**** in, you might be pushing in some not so friendly pathogens.  Consult the doctor you lined up here is your best advice.  The resuture will be simple, but many PCP don't do those so they might have to refer you.

Try taping it down.  You may want to contact Leah, she recently had the same problem with a drain coming out, she might have some good tips for you.

Best wishes!!!

I had this issue with a drain after my LBL.  It was in for 5 weeks and needed to be.  After a few weeks the stitch worked its way out of the skin.  My PS told me to wrap tape around the tube close to where it enters the skin leaving a 'tab' of tape about 6 or so inches long that you can fold over on itself to make it 3 inches long.  Tape that tab to your body.  The move up the tubing 6 to 8 inches and do the same thing.  When you tape the second tab to your body make sure there's a bit of slack between the two.  This way if you accidently tug and pull away the second tab, the first one is still there against the skin and protecting it from pulling out.

This may be a stupid question but did you stay home for 5 weeks while the drain was in? Or were you able to go about your normal life after a couple of weeks or so? Can the drain be camoflauged by your clothes? I am having a TT, Panni, and Lipo and I can't imagine being couped up in my house for 5 weeks.

I went to see a musical on day 11 with 3 drains tucked in a fanny pack.  When I went to two drains I either put them in a fanny pack or used the bulb ends to raise up the 'girls' in my bra.  I was all over the place...the musical, MBL baseball games, and the like.

This happened to me but mine finally came completely out.  I told the doc I had tried to put it back in and he told me to never do that as it can cause an infection.  I was put on an antibiotic.

I did get a seroma but had it drained every two days - doesn't hurt at all.  Everything was fine in about 2 weeks.