Forum Discussion

terrianne's avatar
terrianne
Member
4 months ago

Experience with suction/negative pressure dressings

So last Thursday I had a bilateral "Goldilocks" mastectomy - it's Tuesday now, so today is the fifth day post-op.
I had three nights in hospital and was discharged on Sunday, and every day has felt like a battle with these dressings. It's a system called Prevena that puts a foam layer over the sutures, and then a plastic dressing over that so that the attached pump can then apply a gentle vacuum.
Even in hospital, every day has brought patches to the edges to try and maintain a seal. It holds if I'm sitting down but the moment I stand up, the pump goes off, and I hear a little whistle from a new leak somewhere in the dressing. It's getting pretty frustrating - I can't shower without it going off and even just doing a wash at the basin triggers leaks. And forget going for 'gentle walks' - I want to, but not if the dressing's going to leak the whole damn way.
I'm due to have them removed on 9 December, so six more days with them. If I thought I was happy to have drains removed, that'll probably be nothing compared to the joy of getting rid of these dressings.
Has anyone else had experience with suction/negative pressure dressings like this?
mastectomy
recovery
surgery
  • FLClover's avatar
    FLClover
    Member
    4 months ago
    It is very loud at night, and quite triggering too. 

    Don’t worry about not having that dressing on because the post-op bra is just as effective and your incisions are probably well on their way to healing by now. A lot of women don’t even have the Pico or Prevena, it’s a relatively new thing, and they’re still fine. I didn’t have it for my exchange surgery but I did wear a really supportive post-op bra and everything healed wonderfully. You’ll definitely be ok without it, just make sure to wear your bra and do your recommended stretches 👌🏻. 
  • terrianne's avatar
    terrianne
    Member
    4 months ago
    Well, today was a day.
    In the end, the HITH nurse removed the entire thing - no more suction dressing, just the regular ones. She said the incisions are looking fine, but she's glad the dressings came off now. So I just have regular dressings on now.
    Cue one very quick bolt for the post-surgical bra I wasn't expecting to need for a week yet, but I'm now wearing one and really hoping that the incisions are okay.
  • terrianne's avatar
    terrianne
    Member
    4 months ago
    It looks like Pico and Prevena are the same general sort of thing.
    I hear you on bad sleep because of constant beeping - if I got more than three hours of sleep last night, I'll eat my hat, the little pump kept on going off and it is loud at night.
    It looks like they're giving up on mine, the HITH nurse coming by today will likely disconnect the pump and tubing and just leave the dressings in place.
  • FLClover's avatar
    FLClover
    Member
    4 months ago
    Hello, I had a Pico dressing that sounds similar, not sure if it was the same thing. Mine was not applied correctly so the little devices attached at the end of the ‘drains’ kept beeping and switching off as well. I used to have really bad sleep because I’d keep waking up to try and get them working again. Same throughout the day. I had them for 7 days and was also thankful to finally have them removed. I think the problem was that they were not put on correctly post-op and that then keeps creating issues and defeating their purpose. 
  • terrianne's avatar
    terrianne
    Member
    4 months ago
    Thanks, @arpie. I've got Hospital in the Home coming by daily, and they're going to talk to one of the surgeons and see if it might be better to turn off suction and just have them as dressings or something. The HITH nurse yesterday did say once they start losing their grip they almost never get it back properly :(
  • arpie's avatar
    arpie
    Member
    4 months ago
    Sorry @terrianne  

    I am not familiar with these dressings .... but if you are not happy with them, contact your surgeon's office - perhaps the Practice Nurse can check them out - and maybe swap them for something that works better for you. 

    Take care & all the best for your appt next week.