Question:
How many and how long did you have your drains in?

How bad did they hurt when they were removed?    — Sue B. (posted on April 26, 2002)

April 26, 2002
I had four drains following my panniculectomy in November. Two of them were removed two weeks post-op, the third was removed four weeks post-op, and the last one stayed in for almost 8 weeks. I never even felt them while they were in place, and I felt absolutely nothing when they were removed....they were just aggravating to keep strategically pinned to my underwear so that they were not noticeable when I was at work or out in public :-)
   — Diana T.

April 26, 2002
i had an open r.n.y. i was in the operating room 3.5 hours,, the doctor told me most do not need any drains,, i came out with none..so there is hope of having none. the 3.5 hours instead of the standard 2 to 2.5 hours was because most of my bulk was in my stomach,, and it was a little harder to operate through.. good luck
   — bruce M.

April 27, 2002
Hi there ~ I had lap RNY on the 9th of April - I had two drains that stayed in for 10 days after. The one thing that my doctor didn't tell me was how to care for my wounds - luckily, my sister is a nurse and was here with me. Each day she would clean each entry site with a clean gauze with peroxide on each one followed by distilled water (never out of the faucet). Each wound was cleaned about 3 different times each time she did it - does that make sense? I would shower each day by putting a ribbon around my neck and connecting the drains to each side of the ribbon. Every person I spoke with, including the patient directly in front of me at the doctors office, told me it was extremely painful to get the drains out BUT that it went fairly quick. I believe with all my heart that my sisters care that she took of me following my surgery and nursing those wounds each day / night kept the scabs or blood from getting 'hard' around the wound and when the drains came out, it barely hurt. I closed my eyes, focussed on a really good & happy thought and remembered to breathe in and out - my sister rubbed my arm as the doc was working on me. On a scale from 1 - 10 in pain, it was a 1 or 2 - closer to 1. More like discomfort for a split second rather than pain. If you need any help or advice on caring for your own wounds, I can give you my sisters email address - write me an email if you want it, she'll help you out via email. Hope this helps.
   — Lisa J.