Drain question

candles1

I had BMX last Monday and came home with four drains. Production has tapered off nicely, and output is well under 20cc per drain (and one is only about 5cc over a 24 hour period). I don't see PS for another week.


Is it safe to leave drains in even as output diminishes to nearly zero? Or should I call PS office to have nurse or someone remove them? They really don't bother me; but if it's harmful to leave them in as they dry up, I'd like to know.

Kicks

A call to your Dr (or his PA/NP or RN) would be a good idea and let them make the decision as to what is the best plan of action. I know nothing at all about very low output so soon after surgery. Perhaps there is a clog somewhere in the tubing? I do know that taking them out too soon can cause problems (seroma).

My first drain was removed 2 weeks post UMX with no issues. The 2nd one was still draining a bit more than ideal to remove it but Dr felt that the drain itself could be causing irritation, so he removed it at 4 weeks post UMX and it promptly developed a fairly large seroma that was still showing up (6.5 cm) on CT 2+ plus months later.

Definately - it would be a good idea to at least talk to your Dr or his Staff and let them decide if it something to 'worry' about or not.

ksusan

I never had high output, but my BS wanted the drains retained for the full period to be sure that I didn't develop a seroma. As far as i know, there's no harm leaving them in. He actually removed mine a bit earlier than he intended because the valves on the drains started falling apart.

ravzari

Like ksusan, I had low output as well; I think the only time I ever topped 20ml was the day after surgery, after that it was 7ml or less every day.

My PS said she wanted to keep them in for at least a full week just to lower the chance of developing a seroma if they were removed too early.

There's no harm in leaving them in until your next appointment, but it's certainly worth calling to see if they want to remove them sooner (I'd hoped mine would, those things were annoying); some people have drains in for several weeks before their output drops.

GAMomma

are you striping them? Just making g sure you are doing all you are supposed to do. I agree with the others as a phone call just to be safe. I envy your output,mine was high,always 😢

I hope you are feeling well also 💖

candles1

Thanks to everyone for the input. I have been stripping them and there are no clots as far as I can tell; never were any. The output just diminished gradually over the week, and color has lightened as well. I will call the PS office tomorrow and see what they want me to do. I just looked at my instruction sheet, and it says to call once output reaches less than 30cc per drain. As of tonight, they are all still well under 20 and one is down to just a few drops each time I empty.

GAMomma

awesome for you. The drains and me were not good friends..at..all.. I hope you get early release from them !

candles1

Just to follow up in case anyone has the same situation - I did call the PS office, and they recommended I come in to have the drains removed when output is this low, even so soon after surgery. Leaving drains in for no useful reason apparently presents an unnecessary infection risk. So, I had the drains removed today.

GAMomma

I hope this is all for the good. I'm having another placed placed at 3:30pm,not looking forward to it 😢