still draining 5 weeks post op

zuri927

I had right side mastectomy almost six weeks ago. Surgeon said they will pull drain when it has less than 30 ml in 24 hours for a couple of days. One drain was pulled at 2 weeks but the other still drains 65 to 95 ml a day. I had a visit with plastic surgeon just to discuss options and he we shocked I still have that much drainage. I called general surgeon who removed breast. Nurse talked to him and said not to worry, some just take longer than others. Anyone else have drains in for 6 weeks or more? Thanks, Zuri.

LW422

Zuri--I'm sorry you didn't get any responses to your thread. Personally both my drains were out after 2 weeks so I can't comment. I have seen posts about drains being left for longer periods, though. I hope the issue is resolved and you can get the drain out if you haven't already.

serendipity09

Hi Zuri! If I would've seen this thread sooner I would have responded. I hope that by now your drain is out.

I had five drains, two were removed 5 days after surgery, two others removed a week later, that last one was in for almost 6 weeks because my output was more than 20ml. My PS told me the same thing the nurse told your husband, that for some people it takes longer.

NayaBean

Hi Zuri! I wish I had seen your question sooner as well, but I have not been on the forums recently. In any case, I feel as if I could have written your post. Indeed I think I did write a similar one, and will check in a bit to see if I can find it.

I had a single mastectomy with two drains. One came out after a few weeks -- I don't remember exactly when -- but the other one kept draining about the same amount as yours all the way up to the 6-week mark. At that point, my plastic surgeon said he would just take it out anyway. He did not seem very concerned about the fact that it was still draining. He just took it out, put a bandage on it, and that was that.

Edit: Here Is the post I wrote, when I was 4 weeks post-op. Again, the second drain was in for a full 6 weeks. My PS was not worried, and took it out at that point even though it was still draining quite a bit. There were no problems.

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/91/topics/880501?page=1#idx_2

zuri927

Thanks for your responses. NayaBean I'm glad it finally worked out! I'm now 8 1/2 weeks post-right mastectomy. Four days ago my surgeon removed my last drain even though it was still collecting 85-100 ml a day. So without the drain, my surgery side swelled up immediately. Today I had a needle aspiration and the surgeon said he's going to need to put a new drain in. So discouraging.

Kevin56

I recommend wound vac if you are producing that much. I had hugh seroma develop after my lumpectomy. Was on wound vac for 10 weeks with 3 home health nurse visits a week. But this may not work for you.

illimae

Zuri, it took 5 1/2 weeks for me to get down to the level where drains could be removed. My breast surgeon said “some people are just extra juicy” and recommended that I stopped being so active and rest for a week. I hope you can get them out soon, I remember by that point the drains and incision site were so annoying and painful. At the time, I was desperate to be done with them. Good luck.