Drainage tubes and draining......

Is there one or more particular thing that is responsible for the amount of draining. Does it take complete rest, or is it due to compression or what exactly causes drainage. I guess I want to know what is most beneficial to do to get the drainage to slow down. It has already slowed tremendously but I have an appt Tuesday to get the tubes taken out and I want to know if there is anytihng I can do over the weekend to ensure it successfully slows down. Surgery was April 19, abdominoplasty. I am probably still draining about 30-40 cc in each tube in a 24 hour period.

Thanks for any advice.

Dottie

I know the drains are a pain, but be glad they are working. Once you get them out your body has to deal with the excess fluid with out the drains help and if there's too much you will develop seromas.

My LBL was 11 days ago and I started with 4 drains. The PS took out two of them but left 2 to be safe even though all 4 were under 30 cc's each. The remaining 2 have been under 20 cc's but I'm waiting patiently until my next app't when I'm sure he'll take them out.

Hang in there!

When is your next appt? I go in Tuesday. I am waiting but not to patiently. I will however abide by what the dr says. lol Was just wondering if to much activity or anything contributes to the amount of drainage? This sure is a learning experience, lol
I just want to do things right.

Dottie

Aloha-
Speaking as a veterinarian ( not a plastic surgeon!), I can tell you that several things contribute to the amount of drainage you might be experiencing.
When your skin was removed and your abdominal muscles tightened, there were artificial spaces created in between the skin and muscle layer, between layers of muscle, and where pockets of fat were removed - this is called "dead space" , and your body tends to collect fluid ( serum) in dead spaces.
Some things during surgery that increase the amount of this cavernous space are- aggressive tissue handling, lots of undermining of the skin (breaking down some of the connective tissue that attaches your skin to the underlying muscle, fat, etc) so that the surgeon is  able to get a more mobile flap of skin to pull over and close the incision, excessive bleeding  at time of surgery, possible sites of hernia repair, etc. If you had alot of bleeding at time of surgery and formed a blood clot or hematoma, then that resolves slowly over weeks to months and gets smaller and harder as the clot "organizes"- different situation than a seroma, and doesn't drain from your tubes.
Some things post op that contribute to the amount of drainage are- excessive movement and motion at the surgery site ( so being too active too soon post op), bleeding post op,  infection, and the physical presence of something irritating in the surgical wound ( for example the drain itself or a certain type of sutures that you might be reacting to).
It's normal for drains to stay in as long as 3 weeks post op, you're not quite there yet, so it doesn't sound like an extra long time. And once those drains are out, your body needs to resorb any serum that forms that WON'T be draining outside your body ( since you pulled the drains), and if it cannot resorb it quickly enough, or you are having coagulation ( clotting) issues, then that pocket of serum enlarges and can put pressure/tension on the healing incisions and delay your  healing....that pocket of serum is called a seroma.
So keep your drains in as long as your surgeon feels they are needed ( the drainage will diminish, you just might be too soon), and avoid overactivity too soon ( which we tend to do once we feel better), and get your dietary protein in ( to heal quickly) , and use your compression garments if they were recommended ( because it keeps those cavernous dead spoaces compressed so that they tend to not collect fluid). Icing the areas doesn't really help at this point. I came home with 7 drains, all were pulled between day 2 and 12 post op, and my doctor does not use compression garments- yet I needed more drains because I oozed quite a bit at time of surgery ( even though I had been off all potential anticoagulants including the Vit E in the multivites).
This too shall pass- XOXOLori

Hey sweetie I had the same thing when I had my Full TT it is normal so don't worry everyone's body is different and the amount of drainage that you are experiencing is what is normal for you. If you are really that worried you can always give you PS a call... My PS took out my drains and the compression garmet did the rest. I joked that I was being squeezed and juiced like a lemon. Another thing that you will notice is that the swelling will go up and down for months so don't worry about that either. i'm sure you will look and feel great in no time. The drains are just the crappy part don't worry it will all work out.
When in dount call you PS that is too much money to not have the look you want....trust me I know TT down and Boobs on the way...so bug your PS bug him/her all day and night they are use to it...Good Luck

Thank you for this post..  I am/was very much concerned about my JP drain.  I had my surgery on Thursday and came home today.  Overall, I feel pretty good.  However, I'm having to empty the little bulb thing every 2 hours, getting 65-75 mls each time.  Sometimes it's bright red, other times just an orange/brown color. 

Normal -- right?  Nothing to push the panic button for -- right?