Drains after Tummy Tuck Surgery
Tummy tuck surgery generally involves a longer recovery time than other plastic surgery procedures. To speed the healing process and reduce the risk of complications, surgeons typically place drains near the surgical site. This minimizes the risk of infection and ensures that excess fluid is properly removed from the body. While surgical drains may be inserted after other plastic surgery procedures, they are most common after tummy tuck.
What Is a Surgical Drain?
The surgical drain consists of a small bulb, which is connected to a tube that is inserted into the body through an incision, though not necessarily through the same incision that was used during the tummy tuck procedure. The tube is placed in an area where fluid from the body is likely to collect, so that instead of remaining in the body, the fluid is drained out of the body, into the bulb. These bulbs can generally be clipped to the underwear or to a special compression garment that encircles the waist, to ensure that they stay in place.
Why Is a Surgical Drain Necessary?
After surgery, the body sends blood and other fluids to the treatment area. The blood and fluids encourage healing. However, a build up of blood and fluid can result in post-surgical complications, such as seroma, hematoma, discomfort, and excessive inflammation. By draining these excess fluids out of the body, the risk of these complications is greatly reduced. While there is still likely to be some swelling, the drains keep it at a minimum and aid in the healing process.
How Do I Care for the Surgical Drains?
The for each drain will need to be emptied several times a day. Most surgeons patients to measure how much fluid is being expunged from the body and will provide a method for patients to track that amount. The fluid is likely to be yellow, red, or brown, and even have some solid pieces in it. If it is very red or smells foul, it is time to contact the surgeon.
Being careful not to pull on the tube, the patient should carefully examine how much fluid has drained into the bulb. Some bulbs will have measuring markings for convenience of measuring. If they do not, empty the fluid into a measuring cup and record the amount from there. To drain the bulb, either into a measuring cup or another cup, open the lid, dump the fluid, and then before closing, squeeze the bulb, close the lid, and then release the bulb, creating a vacuum. Most patients will do this two or three times a day.
To further reduce the risk of infection, patients should thoroughly wash their hands with anti-bacterial soap before and after handling the drains. Patients should also take care not to let anything pull at the tubes and drains while they are in place.
For more information about tummy tuck or any other plastic surgery procedure, contact Jefferson Plastic Surgery today. The staff at Jefferson Plastic Surgery is on hand during normal business hours to answer questions, and set up appointments.