Hi..has anyone had lymph nodes removed, as well as breast excision?? Breast care nurse spoke of drain, and gave me a shoulder bag to be more discrete, and allow easier activities, bathroom visits, etc..forgot to ask, how long does drain stay in please, if all going well??..thank you, hope everyone is doing well..:-))

I had two drains. One for mastectomy and one for lymph nodes. My lymph nodes drain came out after five days. The other came out after ten. It should have been reversed but I had trouble with the lymph node drain site so they took it out early and left the other to do the mop up.

Hi therei think it can vary a lot. My surgeon wanted them to stay until all fluid stopped draining and that varies a lot from person to person (days or weeks). Best to just stick with it until all clear. Best wishes.

@Joarden I had Lumpectomy & Lymph clearance 12 days ago. And my good little draino is still with me :). I was given instruction that I must have 2 consecutive days with less than 40mls & then the Home/Community nurse can take it out (so far not a single day under, most of the time it's still up around 90ml per day). On my hospital follow up last Friday the surgeon said that if I get to this Friday without it dropping to 40ml then it MUST come out regardless of the output level (leaving it in too long runs too much risk of infection so 2 weeks maximum).

That’s the toss up - fluid out but not at the cost of an infection. Might be worth enquiring about massage if the fluid has not stopped when the drain come out (it can assist in dispersing fluid). Best wishes.

I had my drain in for 24 days! It was such a drain!

Drain after surgery | BCNA Online Network

15 Replies

kezmusc
Member
6 years ago
Eeeww...drains yuk. @Blossom1961 two drains is just not fair. I was discharged on the Wednesday after lumpectomy & axillary clearance. The drain came out Friday thank goodness. It can vary though of course.
All the best for speedy drain removal @Joarden. xoxoxo
Joarden
Member
6 years ago
Wishing you a speedy recovery, thank you..:-))
jamavon
Member
6 years ago
I had surgery on the Tuesday for a mastectomy. I went home with a drain which was removed by the community nurses on the Saturday. I had to have 2 consecutive days with less than 50ml of fluid. Everyone will be different though.
Afraser
Member
6 years ago
Hi there
i think it can vary a lot. My surgeon wanted them to stay until all fluid stopped draining and that varies a lot from person to person (days or weeks). Best to just stick with it until all clear. Best wishes.
Blossom1961
Member
6 years ago
I had two drains. One for mastectomy and one for lymph nodes. My lymph nodes drain came out after five days. The other came out after ten. It should have been reversed but I had trouble with the lymph node drain site so they took it out early and left the other to do the mop up.

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Drain after surgery

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