Question:
Went to the surgeon's office to get my drain tube out. It would not budge!

Only the nurse was there, so I have to return on Monday for the Doctor to get it out. Has this happened to anyone else? Any suggestions on how I could do it myself????    — Diane H. (posted on September 7, 2002)

September 7, 2002
Don't try to take it out yourself, wait until monday,let the doctor do it.. you might hurt yourself!!! better safe then sorry.
   — bikerchic

September 7, 2002
When I went to have my drain tube taken out, my doctor had a really hard time getting it out. He pulled on that sucker sooooooooo hard that I thought my "old stomach" and intestines were going to come out with it! It took him a while, but he finally got it. When it did, it snapped my skin like a rubber band and splattered stomach juice all over his wall and certificate. If I were you, I would just wait until Monday. I mean, it's been your "best friend" for this long... what's a couple more days?
   — Tanya B.

September 7, 2002
When I went to have my drain taken out my doctor was in surgery. A Physician's Assistant said my surgeon had trained them to take the drains out so he could be more available for surgery. She yanked on my drain slowly and it only came out half way. It hurt alot because your suppose to pull it out quickly. I had to wait in my doctor's office for 4 hours until he got out of surgery. I was in pain the whole time until he got there and gave it a quick hard tug and it popped out. It turned out I was her first victim and she was afraid to pull that hard. If your in pain I would suggest going to the ER otherwise you wouldn't want to cause any damage so I would wait for your doctor
   — Alison N.

September 7, 2002
DON'T EVER EVEN THINK ABOUT DOING IT YOURSELF! You are not trained and you COULD do something very wrong. Perhaps even have to have surgery to correct it. Perhaps even worse (death). If you absolutely "think" you have to have it out, then do as the other poster said and go to the ER. However, I've found that the best people are not usually at the ER... so unless you are in a heck of alot of pain THEN WAIT FOR YOUR SURGEON. He is absolutely your BEST bet.
   — Danmark

September 7, 2002
AS ALL HAVE SAID DO NOT TRY ON YOUR OWN!!!!!!!!!!! my second surgeon, tried to remove my drain tubes they wouldnt come out... I ended up having surgery to have them removed,, I'm sure you probably won't need this (it was first surgeon screw up) mine were thru the bowels if he had pulled it out any way he would have ruptured my intestines in a big way,,, wait for your surgeon or go to er... they do sometimes adhere and just need a little more forcing than usual but the chance of disaster looms to near to try it.....
   — BBD

September 7, 2002
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but there is a ball full of water at the end of that tube. So don't try this your self. When I had mine taken out, the nurse had to prick the balloon and then drain the water, then pull it out. It hurt like hell but I felt instantly better once it was out. I think the ER could handle something like that if you don't want to wait for the doctor.
   — Candi B.

September 7, 2002
May I repeat the "DON'T DO IT YOURSELF!" message? My aunt had heart bypass surgery a few month ago. There was a chest tube that they should have been able to just pull out, but somehow it got stapled in. She was fine... they just took her back to surgery. But the moral is... ANYTHING is possible.... let the doctor take care of it for you. <getting off soapbox now>
   — Kelly B.

September 9, 2002
The nurse had trouble removing the JP drain at the hospital before I left. She went and got the charge nurse who finally got it out and I have to say that it was painful - the problem was that a blood clot had formed on the tip of the drain and was keeping it from coming out - she finally gave it a very firm yank and out it came. The pain was pad for a few seconds but diminished quickly.
   — Patty_Butler