The following comment from our forum is from a woman who had a tummy tuck performed two weeks ago and still has her surgical drains installed. She thinks that is too long and that too much fluid and blood is being drained.

Date: 04/28/2010 Submitted by: Alicia

I had a tummy tuck done two weeks ago, and my drain is still water and blood my doctor thinks this is normal, but I don’t. I think that that is to long a time to keep a drain on and the blood context is too much. Please help!

RESPONSE

Date: 04/28/2010 Submitted by: Tanner

Alicia,

My tummy tuck drains were removed 6 days after surgery. Two weeks does seem like a long time, but I would think your doctor would know best as to what is normal and what isn’t. I did a quick internet search and found the following web site which indicates that some tummy tuck surgical drains stay in for as long as 15 days or more so it seems that your situation is not too uncommon.

“Tummy Tuck Drain Removal”
How long you will have the drains in place depends on how much drainage you have. This is one reason you need to keep track of the amount that collects in the bulbs each day. The surgical drains may be removed in as little as 3 to 5 days or as long as 15 days or more, depending upon the amount of fluid you are draining.
“http://www.tuckthattummy.com/drains_removal.htm.

Good luck.

Tanner