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Hello I’m Dr. David Reath and I’m an ASPS Member Surgeon. I’m here with one of my
nurses Mandi to talk to you about drains. If you’re having breast reconstruction,
you’re going to have at least one drain. They’re not the most fun things in the world,
but knowing a little bit more about how they work, and how to care for them, is going to
make your recovery easier. Now the drain comes in three different parts: this part is actually
underneath the skin and so you won’t ever see it. There’s then a tube which connects
that to the bulb. This bulb collects the fluid that comes out. The reason we put the drain
in is that fluid, or sometimes small amounts of blood, may develop in the areas where you’ve
had your surgery, and removing them is important to make the healing go smoothly. So there’s
several things you need to know about the drains. First is something called stripping
the drains.
I’m going to have Mandi hold this right like it’s going into the body. Sometimes
this tube will get a little clogged up by a small amount of blood, some protein and
fluid or even a little bit of tissue. The way you get it unplugged is to squeeze the
drain close to where it goes into the body and draw it away from it like this. It creates
suction and then you let go of this hand and it helps milk whatever is in the tube into
the drain. That’s known as stripping the drains. You’re probably going to want to
do it every time you empty the drains. It will just make them much more easy to deal
with. If for some reason the drain gets clogged, sometimes fluid will come out on the skin
around the drain. It’s messy, but it’s not the end of the world because the drain
is there to get rid of the fluid. The next thing we’re going to show you is how to
empty what comes out of the drain. And I’m going to turn this over to Mandi.
OK we have put some colored fluid just to demonstrate exactly how to empty the bulb.
When this is always working appropriately, it will always have a suction to it when it’s
inside the body. What you’re going to want to do is you release the top, and I always
give patients these little Dixie cups—it’s got the measurements on there. Turn this upside
down, empty the fluid, keep track of how much is coming out of the drain, and then you always
want to compress and hold as you are closing that back up.
Another thing about the drains is figuring out how to secure them because you’re not
always going to walk around holding them. And again, Mandi has some very helpful tips.
What I recommend is to use a safety pin and you can put the pin in this plastic area here
and you can pin the drain onto the bra to help hold that up. And then when showering
I usually recommend getting a shoestring and looping around and making a little necklace,
tying it around your neck, to keep it elevated while showering.
We hope that this information will make your recovery easier. Just remember, the drains
will not be in forever, but knowing how to manage them can make it a little easier for
you. Should you ever have a question though, never hesitate to call your surgeon. Their
staff wants to hear from you and wants to help you with your recovery.