Understanding drains after Tummy Tuck

Ok, so one of the things that I was most concerned about when I was getting ready for the surgery was what people kept referring to as “drains”. I never saw much information about this , so I wanted to make sure I did a post to explain what drains are and how to care for them.

Ok, so most plastic surgeons put in what are called JP (Jackson Pratt) drains. These help to draw fluids and blood away from surgery areas so that you don’t get an abscess after surgery. Trust me, you want these things to help you drain faster. I had 5 that were put in with my surgery. As each area begins to heal, there’s less “stuff” to pull and it turns more yellow than red. Your doctor will remove them based on the measurements he or she deems appropriate.

This is a picture of the drain. They’re about the side of a a fist when inflated, but most of the time you want them compressed like shown in the picture because that constant suction is what draws the “stuff” out .

So three times a day my Doctor has me empty out the drains, measure the amount, and record the amounts on a piece of paper and I bring that paper with me when I come to the Dr. Telepun’s office appointments so he knows which drains he wants to remove.

So how do you “empty” the drains?

1. Ok the first step is that you want to “milk” the drains. This will help there not to be blood clots and stuff stuck in the cord leading to the drain clogging things up so it doesn’t work properly. So you’ll just start close to the entrance area of the drain. And hold one area as you sort of pull on the cord (it stretches) to push anything down on them, then you just work your way down to the bulb.

2. Then you will see a little plastic plug you will undo, and you will pour the contents of the bulb into a measuring cup that they should give you at the hospital.

3. After its emptied (you wont be able to get every drop) you need to squeeze the bulb tightly and then replace the plug so it will stay compressed.

4. Then you just record each amount you emptied on a piece of paper.

If the plug accidentally comes open and you notice it then just squeeze the bulb again and put the plug back in. They do sometimes come loose but seem to more as time goes on and you’re moving around more often.

So I would say this isn’t really a huge source of stress. It will help a lot at the beginning if someone else can do your drains for you as you will be tired and loopy from the medicine most of the time. Good luck!