Drains (Caution: Graphic Photo)

The drains were the part of surgery I was least prepared for. I'm sure a large part of this was that my doctor hadn't really said anything about them except that he wasn't planning to use them. But some of it is also likely due to a combination of limited imagination on my part and the fact that I really hadn't seen any pictures. I'd heard drains described as tubes with small bulbs at the end that you have to empty from time to time. I think of a small bulb as something on the end an eye dropper, but these were bigger than the ends of turkey basters. Although if I'd thought of it, I guess I would have realized that there is no point in having drains if you only expect a few drops of excess liquid.

I only had to wear the drains for about 2 days, so I didn't have to do much in the way of drain care. I had to empty them a few times (2-3 times a day) and "strip" the tubes. Stripping the tubes requires holding the tubes shut and pulling on them to clear out all the liquid (a mix of blood and lymph) in them. It's actually a similar movement to stripping embroidery floss. Had I worn them longer I would have had to clean where they came out too, unfortunately, this meant I wasn't allowed to shower until they came out and by the time I got them out I was more than ready for a shower!

The drains weren't bad. They might have bothered me if I was squimish, but I'm not usually. And it would have been worth it to have the surgery anyway! The only thing I didn't like about the drains is that the plastic bulbs felt weird where it touched my skin, but I usually wrapped them in my shirt tails so I wouldn't feel them.

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