The following post from our forum is from a woman whose tummy tuck surgical drain tubing was leaking at the point of insertion into her body. She was able to stop the leaking by clearing or removing the obstruction in her surgical drain tubing.

Date: 10/30/2011 Submitted by: LindaTummy Tuck Drain Tubing Leaking At Insertion Point

Hi! I just located this very informative site after googling about my drain leaking at point of insertion. For about a day, a considerable amount of fluid has been “escaping: through the drain insertion hole. After reading all of your wonderfully helpful information, I decided to squeeze my drain tubing. Lo and behold, big clots and 45 cc’s of fluid in bulb! I am 11 days post-op and so glad I made this decision. Thank you for providing me with some much needed assistance. It seems that doctors offices all too often “presume” that we know what to expect before, during and after recovery. With no previous experience of this sort, how can one always know what questions to ask? Thanks, again, to all that contributed.

RESPONSE

Date: 10/30/2011 Submitted by: Tanner

Linda,

You are the first person that I have actually heard from who had a clot in their surgical drain tubing and removed it by squeezing or “milking” it. I’m glad it worked for you.

You would think that surgeons would have a handout that they give their patients that tell you all this stuff. Maybe some do, but mine sure didn’t (looks like yours didn’t either).

If you have any tidbits of information that you would like to pass along to other’s let me know and I will include it in the Tummy Tuck Forum.

Good luck with your recovery.

Tanner

Reference: Read “Sometimes the Surgical Drains Clog” on Tummy Tuck Surgical Drains.