Question:
I am still having alot of drainage, why is that?

I did not have a drain put in. My incision opened up at the bottom, I guess formed it's own drain hole. How long can this go on? And why so much drainage? Am I doing something wrong?? PLEASE HELP    — Kathy P. (posted on December 14, 2003)

December 13, 2003
I had a drain, but the drain was only to drain the excess fluid from around the pouch. I had 3 separate spots on my incision open up. My doc said that was minor compared to some who have to have their whole incision open. You are not doing anything wrong. I went to my doc about it and they got all of the major drainage out for me, so it did not get infected and they taught me how to pack it with gauze. So you may want to call your doctor (surgeon). My 3 spots healed anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months. The one that took 3 mths was a very deep opening. The reason for the drainage is the fat does not heal like muscle does. Since this happens, fat just melts and causes all that drainage. That is what I read when I had my problem. Good luck to you, hope this helps. Holly open rny 8/18/03 -120 lbs
   — Holly H.

December 14, 2003
The drain tube drains fluid from your abdominal cavity only, so it would not help with the incision drainage you are referring to. First let me recommend putting this in perspective. Is it really all that bad? Is it not worth a little inconvenience for a while in order to have this life saving/changing surgery? I speak from experience! I had a hole in my incision for 4-1/2 months (also had 2 others that were open a month) and it required a 2nd surgery to get it to heal up. While it wasn't my first choice it wasn't the end of the world either. I had to pack it twice a day, no big deal. I had lots of problems finding virgin skin to put tape on as it was ripping the crap out of my skin, yet it still was not the end of the world. I just kept trying tapes till I found one that worked the best. It was a prescription surgical tape and quite expensive, but it worked. <p>The hole could heal up in the next 2-3 weeks just fine or it could require some intervention, like mine did. But in the overall picture it truly is very minor. I am thrilled to have had WLS and ecstatic with my progress. I would go through it all again in a heartbeat. So hang in there and know you are not alone. Keep it clean and packed and that will help it heal out faster. Ask the surgeon what you should pack it with. Usually it's a wet-to-dry packing, which is gauze with saline solution on it. Here's wishing you a speeding healing!
   — zoedogcbr

December 14, 2003
I did not have a drain put in and my incision continued to drain for a good 2 months after surgery. There were a couple of areas that healed on the outside, but the inside wasn't finished healing. The surgeon had to re-open those sections of the incision so that the drainage could continue and I would heal from the inside out. This was done in his office. I'm now 4 months post-op and everything has finally healed correctly.
   — Lori W.

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