Hi Everyone!

I was sleeved this past Monday and have done very well but my question is this: What would cause the incision site where the drain is to start hurting? It seems like the first couple of days I couldn't feel it at all, then it seemed a little sore like maybe I pinned the bulb to my clothes in the wrong place and now I have wincing pain during any movement. There is no change in the discharge, no fever, no unusual redness, any ideas? Since it is the weekend, I hate to call the answering service and my appointment to have this thing removed is Tuesday anyway but if there is something wrong then I don't want to wait until Tuesday either. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Susan

Over a week seems like a long time to keep the drain in, usually drains are removed 2-4 days after a surgery. But, Its not unheard of. I think the pain is probably your body's reaction to having a foreign object sticking out of it. Your skin is probably trying to heal around it. As long as you keep the insertion site clean and dry, and you don't notice any increase in drainage where the tube is inserted, then you should be OK. One would think that drainage in the bulb should be very minimal by now. So you'll probably be fine. But, on the other hand....that's why on call docs are there.

I had a drain for a week after surgery also. It did cause me more discomfort with each passing day, and if I didnt have the tubing positioned just right it would cause me pain. Many times I just tucked it in my underwear instead of trying to pin it to a shirt, and that worked pretty well. As long as you are not experiencing any weird discharge or look of infection around the incision site, it probably is just a matter of the way your body is reacting to a foriegn object. I couldnt wait to get mine out but considering all of the liquid that draned out, it was probably a good thing it was there.