As I understand it, there is a drain placed in the abodomen after surgery to drain abdominal blood or other fluid. How long is typical for this to remain in place? This is important to me since I will have Da Vinci surgery in another city and have planned to return home two days after the surgery.
Thanks for any responses!

Mine was taken out before I left the hospital. Hope that helps.

I spent 48 hours in hospital. From 11AM Tuesday to 11AM Thursday. My drain was removed about an hour before leaving hospital. Not a big deal.

Best wishes on your surgery!

I had two of them. the left one was removed in just a few days. the right one was in for a week. Removal hurt like hell - it really did sting.

I had the Da Vinci LRP Feb 21st and was sent home from the hospital the next day. I had only one drain that was removed just before I was discharged. BTW - it was a good thing I was laying down when the medical assistant yanked it out!

I had my radical done last tuesday 20th March drain taken out 21st. It is only there to remove access fluids after the op If it looks good they take it out fast. However know of one person that had it in place for 4 days. No biggie :)
Good luck on your surgery and recovery.

Removal of drains depends on each individual's recovery rate. Its purpose is to allow the lymph fluids to drain from the body and prevent them from pooling
in the abdomen which can cause a condition known as a "Lymphocele".
The lymph drains as a result of the removal of lymph glands for dissection. It usually stops after a few days depending on how many were removed and your own body.
Mine were removed by the third day and I was discharged on the 4th (open procedure, not robotic). However when I returned home I was a little too active because I felt so good having the drains and catheter out that the fluids started flowing again and formed the lymphocele which was a medical emergency. My leg swelled to twice its size due to the pooling putting pressure on the femoral artery restricting blood circulation in my leg. I was rushed to the nearest ER for a doppler to rule out a life threatening clot. When it was determined that it wasn't a clot I had to return to Sloan-Kettering and have a drain reinserted for another week.
The lesson is not to remove the drains prematurely or overdo activity immediately after removal.

If I understand you correctly, the JP drain is primarily related to lymph node removal. Does anyone have experience with having no lymph node removal but having a JP drain?

Tim

Hi Fly:
I didn't have any lymph node removal in my DeVinci LRP and I had that drain in place for 24 hours. They removed it then just before I went home from the hospital. The drain was attached to a little squeeze bulb about the size of a golf ball and was emptied two times. The fluid looked like a little blood mixed with a clearer fluid. The doc told me it was water, blood, urine and just some organ oozing that if removed would speed healing.

If I understand you correctly, the JP drain is primarily related to lymph node removal. Does anyone have experience with having no lymph node removal but having a JP drain?

Tim

I had a JP drain inserted in my abdomen immediately after my robotic LRP procedure. I did not have lymph node removal. I was told that, for robotic LRP patients, it's normal. I can't comment on the use of the JP drain as it relates to any other type of prostate surgery.:confused: