JP Drain just keeps going and going...

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WifeofBCMan
WifeofBCMan Member Posts: 2
edited March 2021 in Surgery - Before, During, and After

After L mastectomy, my husband has a JP drain in. He has seen the surgeon weekly since the surgery, and has been told all is well, and I really trust the surgeon.

It's just that when we left the hospital, the nurse commented on how low his output was (she didn't tell me an integer amount, just said "it's low") and that she thought he would get his drain out 'early' as a result.

But here we are, three weeks out from surgery, and still with 60-80 cc/day. It's hard not to feel like we're "failing the test" or at least not doing our homework, somehow. He's otherwise recovering very well. On the advice of his surgeon he's barely using that arm, to try to reduce the fluid output. Anyone else have a drain in for longer than expected? How long did it stay in, in the end?

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  • ElaineTherese
    ElaineTherese Member Posts: 3,328
    edited March 2021

    How active has your husband been? I feel like I kept my drain forever because I went back to work the day after surgery. I later learned that all of that activity (and I'm not just talking about my right arm) encouraged drainage. Maybe your husband needs to be more inactive (?). I did eventually get rid of my drain, and so will your husband. ((Hugs))

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