Surgical recovery can be complicated and there may be a lot of steps that you need to remember. You may have specific medication that you need to take or steps that need to be performed in order to help you get healthy as quickly as possible. Surgical drain care is not terribly complicated but it does involve a few steps.
It may surprise you at first when you find a drain in your incision. Your doctor may not have known that your incision would need one until he completed your surgery. You may also have more than one drain installed if your incision is quite large or deep. The purpose of these devices is to allow blood and other liquids to travel out of your body instead of staying in the wound.
If you do not care for the incision properly your wound can get infected and this can have very serious effects. You may end up back in the hospital and need additional surgeries to deal with the infection. At the very least, it can slow down the healing process and delay your recovery.
Your doctor may have specific instructions that they want you to follow. This may include specific colors of fluids to look for. They may also send home written instructions with you after your surgery or give instructions to your caregiver so that they can look after you properly. If there are specific instructions relating to your surgery it is important that you follow them to ensure you heal properly.
Drains all tend to be made up of similar parts. They may vary a bit but they all involve a plastic tube of some sort that has a bulb attached to the end. Liquid will travel out of the wound and collect in the bulb. The bulb usually has a section on it that can be opened or removed so that the fluid can be poured out. Because the plastic used to make the device is very soft, it can become twisted or kinked.
Cleaning your equipment is very important. If there is any bacteria it can transfer to your drain and end up traveling into the wound. This can leave you with a very serious infection on your end. Even clean the cup that you use to measure how much discharge is coming out of the wound. Don't be surprise though if, after a while, the amount of liquid decreases since this is a sign you are healing.
You need to remember that more fluid will drain out at the beginning of your recovery than it will when it has been healing for a bit. At a minimum, checking it four times a day (about every six hours) will make sure that you get rid of the fluid before the bulb becomes too full. You should get instructions on how to empty the bulb. You just need to ensure that you clean everything before shutting up your device again.
You need to be aware of signs of infection and know how to tell when you need to seek medical attention. If you suddenly see a lot of fluid coming out, if the liquid gets very thick or smells foul, or the liquid starts coming out of the incision as well you will need to at least contact your physician.
It may surprise you at first when you find a drain in your incision. Your doctor may not have known that your incision would need one until he completed your surgery. You may also have more than one drain installed if your incision is quite large or deep. The purpose of these devices is to allow blood and other liquids to travel out of your body instead of staying in the wound.
If you do not care for the incision properly your wound can get infected and this can have very serious effects. You may end up back in the hospital and need additional surgeries to deal with the infection. At the very least, it can slow down the healing process and delay your recovery.
Your doctor may have specific instructions that they want you to follow. This may include specific colors of fluids to look for. They may also send home written instructions with you after your surgery or give instructions to your caregiver so that they can look after you properly. If there are specific instructions relating to your surgery it is important that you follow them to ensure you heal properly.
Drains all tend to be made up of similar parts. They may vary a bit but they all involve a plastic tube of some sort that has a bulb attached to the end. Liquid will travel out of the wound and collect in the bulb. The bulb usually has a section on it that can be opened or removed so that the fluid can be poured out. Because the plastic used to make the device is very soft, it can become twisted or kinked.
Cleaning your equipment is very important. If there is any bacteria it can transfer to your drain and end up traveling into the wound. This can leave you with a very serious infection on your end. Even clean the cup that you use to measure how much discharge is coming out of the wound. Don't be surprise though if, after a while, the amount of liquid decreases since this is a sign you are healing.
You need to remember that more fluid will drain out at the beginning of your recovery than it will when it has been healing for a bit. At a minimum, checking it four times a day (about every six hours) will make sure that you get rid of the fluid before the bulb becomes too full. You should get instructions on how to empty the bulb. You just need to ensure that you clean everything before shutting up your device again.
You need to be aware of signs of infection and know how to tell when you need to seek medical attention. If you suddenly see a lot of fluid coming out, if the liquid gets very thick or smells foul, or the liquid starts coming out of the incision as well you will need to at least contact your physician.
