please tell me about drains....

I'm wondering about this because I thought we only had drains if we had open surgery. Do we have them with the lap gastric bypass too? If so, do we go home with them? Thanks in advance, Sharon

Sharon, Yes, you will have drains with lap. It is a good thing though because your body needs to rid itself of that extra fluid. Whether you go home with drains or not is very dependent upon your doctor and how much you are draining at the time of discharge. I had my drains removed as I was only draining a few CCs prior to discharge. However, I do know of surgeons that will not remove drains until 7 days post op. So, this question is best answered by your surgeon. KimmieTN@Goal

I had open and had a drain in the hospital, but it was removed before i was discharged. I know a woman who had lap who didnt even have a drain in the hospital.. so i guess all doctors are different. it was slightly annoying in the hospital, but really compared to all the other stuff (difficulty moving, pain, etc) it was relatively minor. it only took a few seconds to take out, and that was uncomfortable - but not PAIN.