Problem with stripping drains

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Luckydog42
Luckydog42 Member Posts: 51
edited December 2014 in Surgery - Before, During, and After

Hi! I had my UMX 11 days ago on Nov 17. First drain was out in five days, second drain still in. Doctor had me schedule an appt for a week and a half from now to remove second drain. He does this on Saturdays and told me last Saturday that this won't be ready to be pulled for two more weeks.

I am putting out about 18cc every 12 hrs. The last few days I noticed my drain seemed to need to be stripped, so I pinched the tube and slid down the tube with my other hand to strip it. Seemed to help a little. But today it looks like there is dried up gunk that can't be moved through the tube. It is getting to the point where I fear it will soon completely block the drain. What to do? When do most doctors take out the drain...am I almost there? I cannot wait to get this last drain removed!

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  • Morwenna
    Morwenna Member Posts: 1,063
    edited November 2014

    Mine was a while back now, and I can't remember the exact figures, but I was told the drains would come out once they got below a certain amount of drainage per 24 hours. That makes more sense than saying 1 week, 2 weeks or whatever.

    When you strip the drainage tube, do you use some lubricant? Moisturiser cream or KY etc... Makes it easier to pinch and slide .....

    I had a lumpectomy then went back 2 weeks later for the Mastectomy. I remember when the nurse was giving me my discharge instructions I told him I was ok with managing the drains as I had had one with my first surgery, and knew how to empty them and strip the tubing etc.

    He replied airily "Oh, you don't need to strip them!"

    A day or two later I noticed very little drainage and a lot of gunk had collected near the top of one. So I "milked" it, cleared the blockage successfully, and the bulb immediately filled to about half full! I'm so glad I didn't listen to his advice and did it anyway. It could have really led to problems!

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  • grammakathy
    grammakathy Member Posts: 407
    edited November 2014

    I had drains after all three surgeries. The last time, I ran out of drainage and air gaps appeared in the line. Are you opening the bulb, squeezing it in quarters and then closing it to create suction? There are some good photos showing how to do this if you google it. I was shown how but immediately forgot everything following my surgery.

    If you are concerned, I would call and talk to the nurse. The RN removed my drain following my first Mx, the PS removed the second two times.

    The second time I wrapped my midsection in Syrian wrap because I wanted a shower using a hand held shower head.

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  • LauraW68
    LauraW68 Member Posts: 100
    edited November 2014

    If you have any alcohol pads, you can use those to strip the line with. Just grasp the little square pad around the line and strip like you normally would. That seemed to help clear the lines better than just by hand for some reason.

    My PS would not remove my drains until the output went below 30cc in a 24 hour period.

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  • Kicks
    Kicks Member Posts: 4,131
    edited November 2014

    As grammakathy said - are you sure you are getting a good suction/vacuum? This is what keeps it draining.

    My first drain was removed with no problems 2weeks post UMX. Second was removed at 4 weeks. It was still putting out a lot of fluid but Dr removed it anyway as he thought it might be 'irritatating'. Wrong - it was not healed enough yet and I wound up with a large seroma.

    Call your Dr! It really does not matter what any of us may/may not have experienced. We are each unique and there is no 'One Size Fits All'.



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  • Luckydog42
    Luckydog42 Member Posts: 51
    edited November 2014

    Update: I had tried using antiseptic wipes to help strip and it didn't work. I then used a little bit of lotion and that did the trick. There is still some dried up gunk I can't work out, but the drain is still working. I am finally down to less than 24cc in a 24 hour period, so I should get the drain pulled soon!

    Which brings me to another question: how much will this hurt? The first drain was pulled five days after surgery and hurt as much as getting legs waxed. Since this drain has been in longer, I fear it will hurt more. But, I will go through any amount of pain if it means no more drains!

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  • LauraW68
    LauraW68 Member Posts: 100
    edited November 2014

    I had very little pain with the drains being pulled, what I felt was the tug on the stitches as the nurse cut them. I know everyone is different though. Try to focus your mind on something else while they remove the drain(s).

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  • angelfaith456
    angelfaith456 Member Posts: 83
    edited December 2014

    My hubby used the side of a pencil to give him leverage to strip my drains..It worked tremendously well! It got out all of the gunk!


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