I have a consultation with Dr. Satterwhite at the end of August and I understand he and (Dr. Crane) don't use drains. Just wondering if any of you had top surgery with them or with another surgeon who didn't use drains and what that was like for you. It sounds like maybe there would be less pain without the drains? Or does that mean more swelling?

I don't know about those doctors but I just had my DI surgery done by Dr Sajan this week, and he doesn't use drains. I'm really glad because they look sort of scary, plus some people say they either hurt a lot or they don't feel a thing. I find out how it looks tomorrow. Whenever I sit up there's a warm pressure in my chest for 15-20 seconds, but then it goes away. It's my fourth day post op and I don't really feel pain, just a bit of soreness when I move in certain ways. I'm feeling much better than I thought I would!

I had my surgery with Satterwhite a little over a year ago. I can't say for sure if drains would have had an effect on swelling/pain/recovery time/other stuff, but I can say that my recovery went just fine without them (and, hey, one less thing to deal with). Had surgery on a Friday, took my pain meds for the first couple days just to be safe, then switched to tylenol, then went off that before my post-op appointment on Wednesday. Had a little swelling, but not more than you'd expect to see normally. It went away on its own with time. Honestly, recovery wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected. The binder was the worst part.

It depends of surgeons experience, preference and your overall size and if you have complications. Some surgeons don't use drains due to the fact that it is another route to infection and see a risk vs benefit senario. Unless there is a lot of trauma and post op bleeding anticipated they most likely won't use them. You may experience more swelling at first compared to someone that had drains but it is minimal since amount of drainage varies from person to person and if you are in good health the body absorbs it in due time. Just be cautious about post op signs of infection, increased swelling, redness, fever, discharge or if the wounds start to look like they are stretched or hot to the touch. This is no means from my top surgery experience but from medical back round and the such, so listen to your doctor or better yet the nurse since they are the ones that keep the doctor from killing you (j/k mostly).

Congrats to you both on your top surgery and good luck, hope to be getting mine with the next year or so.

Zeus

To follow up, I just had my post op appointment today and everything looks great. The doctor took a look and said everything looks good and normal, one side is slightly more swollen than the other but I hadn't really noticed myself. When the nurse removed my foam and stuff she had to slowly peel some tape stuff off my incisions, and it didn't really hurt. I'm not sure what all the differences are to drains vs no drains, but I'm incredibly happy I didn't have to deal with them, and I feel like my results are more than fine. The only place I feel super sore at is under my armpits, and that's from a bit of liposuction. Every single person seems to have a different recovery, but that's one more experience you can add to your research

Thank you, guys! This is really encouraging. I'm definitely glad Satterwhite doesn't use drains because I am very squeamish and the thought of not having to deal with that is a huge relief.

Good luck Jon!

I had my top surgery through Kaiser here in California and no drains.. and I was VERY large chested. From what I read there was a lot more restriction of movement with drains. I was really happy when I woke up without them (doc wasn't sure if she'd be able to leave them out). I was just required to keep the bind provided after tight and had no problems at all.

Quote from: sfreit89 on July 01, 2016, 09:47:20 AM
I had my top surgery through Kaiser here in California and no drains.. and I was VERY large chested. From what I read there was a lot more restriction of movement with drains. I was really happy when I woke up without them (doc wasn't sure if she'd be able to leave them out). I was just required to keep the bind provided after tight and had no problems at all.

That's awesome to hear!

I had drains but they don't hurt, they're more uncomfortable. Since they have you all drugged up it doesn't even really bother you to be honest. They're annoying to empty out and such. It was a bit weird when they took them out because of the slight burning sensation when they pulled it out but it wasn't painful.. just a little pinch :p. They're there just to keep you from getting a hemotoma. Seems like a lot of people always have that one side that swells up more than the other.

Quote from: Jonathan L on July 03, 2016, 01:31:35 PM
That's awesome to hear!

Thanks. Good luck to you!