Drains and leak tests
O.K., I am taking a poll of Lap RNY post Ops. Did you have drains after surgery
and did the doctor do a leak test before you left the hospital (or just right
after surgery in the O.R.).
One of the surgeons I met with does NOT usually use drains and ONLY does a leak
test in the OR, not again in the hospital. This concerns me- are they really
necessary?
Thanks for your help once again guys!
Kris in PA
December 26th, 2005 at 7:52 pm
Kris,
I’m not sure what tubes you are referring to but hope this answers your
question.
I had the surgery on 8/15/03 and woke up with a Jackson Pratt(?) and a g-tube.
The Jackson Pratt tube was pulled on the day I left the hospital (8/19). I
went home with the g-tube. That was pulled on 8/30, and I was very happy to see
the miserable thing gone. I don’t recall any leak tests but I was a little out
of it the first 24 hours.
Janet
Dogs come when they’re called; cats take a message and get back to you later.
December 27th, 2005 at 1:25 am
Hey Kris: Lap RNY on 2/19/03. I did have the JP Drain for one week and the
G-Tube for approx. 30 days. I also had the leak test in a radiology-type room
approx. 24 hours after surgery. I had to stand up and drink a solution while a
doctor type guy watched on the monitor. I am surprised they saw anything with
the way I was puking my new guts out! Anyway, I was glad to have the drains.
That leakage would just go into my body to be absorbed, but I’d rather it go out
than in. I couldn’t imagine all of that incision leakage going back into my
body. It was pretty gross. Also, my doctor put that G-Tube in to prevent ANY
possibility of the old stomach bursting. As much as they were an inconvenience,
I knew my doctor had my best interest in mind. Not all do this, and some people
are just fine, but I’d rather my doc focus on the safety side. You can chose
your own doctor. That is what we do so much research for, but it made me
realize it was for my own good, not for the “convenience” of the doctor. Good
Luck with your decision :o) P Hatch*Loser is a relative term*
Ed Jesus <ejkjps@…
Did you have drains after surgery and did the doctor do a leak test before you
left the hospital (or just right after surgery in the O.R.).
One of the surgeons I met with does NOT usually use drains and ONLY does a leak
test in the OR, not again in the hospital. This concerns me- are they really
necessary?
Thanks for your help once again guys!
Kris in PA
December 27th, 2005 at 4:50 am
I’m 2 1/2 weeks post op. I had lap rny and no drains or tubes or anything.
The doctor only checked for leaks in the OR. Other than that I didn’t have
a leak test in the hospital. I had my surgery at roger williams medical
center in providence, ri. Doctor Pohl said he used to do leak tests the day
after surgery but was getting too many false positives so he does not do
them anymore. Hope this helped. Karen
December 27th, 2005 at 9:02 am
Kris,
I had a leak test done the day after my surgery. I have heard that you can
develop a leak when your pouch starts to heal and some of the initial
swelling goes down. I’m not sure how true that is.
I had a drain in when I went home and got it out a week later. I don’t know
if it means anything but I had my surgery done laproscopically.
Where are you from? I’m in PA too.
Mary
surgery and did the doctor do a leak test before you left the hospital (or
just right after surgery in the O.R.).
December 27th, 2005 at 1:35 pm
For your poll, I had a drain and had a leak test in the OR and another one 3
days after surgery. I would insist on it.
Nancy
LAP - RNY 12-16-02
270/220
December 27th, 2005 at 9:03 pm
I had surgery last July and did not have any drains. The surgeon group I
used did do a leak test before you could eat but they no longer do that. It
was discontinued after my surgery so I did have the 2nd leak test. Their
own statistics showed that in 1000+ surgeries that they performed, less than
1% of their patients had any leakage after surgery so they discontinued a
2nd leak test (they do perform one while the patient is still in the
operating room).
Julie S.
December 28th, 2005 at 12:01 am
I had my surgery Tuesday (LAP RNY). When I woke up I had a “J” Tube on my right
side, which drained the surgery area, a tube up my nose… no idea what that was
for, but it was AWFUL! I had a “G” tube on my left side and a foley catheter.
My doctor did a leak test on Wednesday morning. I went to xray and drank some
really vile tasting stuff and they x-rayed me to make sure there were no leaks.
The nose tube came out on Wednesday morning before my leak test. I came home
with the J tube and G tube. The J tube will be romoved when I go back to the
doctor on the 23rd. The G tube will be in for 3-4 weeks. The G tube in in the
larger part of the stomach and according to the doctor it is like a vent. He
had a patient whose staple line in the “old” stomach ruptured from too much gas
build up… so now he has his patients keep it in for a while. When I start
feeling “bloated” or gassy, I dran the G tube. I guess it ll depends on your
doctor and what experiences he has had. (Good and bad) If that one guys staple
line hadn’t ruptured, I may not have the G tub for so long… but I’d rather my
doctor erred on the side of caution. Cheers!Jenelle
December 28th, 2005 at 2:04 am
FYI
HI all:
Having just been released on Wed. of this week this is quite fresh in my
mind. I had a lap rny done on Monday morning. The only leak test was in the
OR. I had the stomach drain the entire time I was in the hospital. All
fluids were collected and measured, and it was pretty gross.
So, after finishing surgery at 930 AM Monday, I was put to bed. I was forced
by the exercise nazi (endearment of WLS buddy) out of bed to do laps around
the nurses station within 4 hours of surgery.
Wed. AM my surgeon, Dr. Gail Wynn came in and said, the resident will remove
the drain and you can go home. Happier words were never spoken.
So far ……….great! I’m not even that tired but that could be a delayed
reaction (anyone ever hear about this)?
I will keep in touch, and thanks to you all for all your inspiring posts.
Smile,
Sandi
Wilmington DE
December 28th, 2005 at 5:05 am
Hi Kris,
I too had 2 drains after surgery. One the Jackson Pratt, not
sure what it is for, but the G-tube, my surgeon says is to help with
the neaseau. They pulled the JP tube out before I left the hospital
but I had to keep the G-tube for a month also. It was very
uncomfortable. As for the leak test, I had mine on my second day out
from surgery. And yes, in my opinion they are necessary! If you have
a leak and it is not detected you can develope Periotonitis (probably
not spelled right) which is the infection you get from the leak, and
can kill you. But it is a choice only you can make. I would have
wanted one.
Shelly
LapRNY 3/3/03
258/219/???
December 28th, 2005 at 5:56 pm
Hi Everyone,
I had an open RNY done on 4/15/03. A leak test was done in the OR prior to
abdominal closure. Another was done the next day in Xray with contrast dye.
Then the NG tube was pulled.
Shirley
December 31st, 2005 at 2:57 am
Yes, I had a drain, it was removed the last day in the hospital, after I
Smone
received orders to go home. That depends on how much fluid is collecting in
it. Sometimes you go home with the drain, and keep it till your post-op
appt. It is used to drain excess fluids and blood leftover in the cavity
after surgery, a good idea.
My Dr. did a leak test in the OR, and the next morning following the day of
surgery, before he would allow me to have liquids. I feel it is necessary,
to be on the safe side. There is no other way to determine if you have a
leak post-op, a fever might be an indication, or you might not know unti
it’s so bad your abdominal cavity is infected.
Lap RnY 3-20-03
253 BMI 42.1
Minus 29 lbs so far!
RE: O.K., I am taking a poll of Lap RNY post Ops.