One of the confusing things about BBL surgeries is the option of BBL drain vs. no drain post-operation. In this piece, we will explain the differences clearly so that you can make an informed choice.
Contents
If you have BBL surgery, your doctor may tell you that you are required to have a drain placed after a procedure to heal faster. Doctors use this method after many surgical procedures to prevent bleeding, help treat fluid collection or treat infections like an abscess.
A surgical drain is a tube doctor uses to remove pus, blood, or fluids coming from the wound. It helps lower the risk of skin infection. It also worked as a drainage system after the surgeries.
Some people are puzzled about which BBL option, BBL drain vs. no drain, is better.
Some doctors or surgeons may not recommend BBL drains after surgeries using liposuction such as tummy tucks or BBLs as it does not cause bleeding after the operation. However, other doctors use drains on their patients to collect their body fluids after these surgeries. The fluids may slow down the healing process of the patient.
BBL Drains vs. No Drains
If you can’t decide what option you should choose between BBL drains vs. no drains, the section below mentions their pros and cons to help you make the right choice for yourself.
The BBL is a plastic surgery performed by doctors to reshape and tone the lower body and add volume to the buttock of the patients. After surgery, doctors perform the BBL drains by placing them on the skin to remove the seroma produced in the body.
The seroma is a collection of fluid in the abdomen that can lead to damaged cells in the stomach or cause infection.
There are more types of surgical drains available. The kind of drain that your doctor used depends on the type of surgery, your surgeon’s preference, and the site of the surgery.
Pros:
The main benefit of drains is weight loss. Patients believe that the fluid that exits the body after the surgery reduces your overall weight and gives you a healthier body. Secondly, drainage might lead to a lower risk of infection.
Cons:
Patients who have done BBL drains to reduce weight report that this drainage method is somewhat painful and uncomfortable for a few days.
Secondly, you can leave the hospital and go home within weeks after surgery. Without the drains, you can walk or do activities without worrying about drains pulling out.
Is Drain Necessary After BBL?
In BBL surgery, your doctor may provide you with an option of no drain. Most expert surgeons do not use surgical drain after BBL as they don’t find it necessary, and the process is hard to access. The collection of seroma usually does not happen in the lower body, but where the doctor removes the fat cell.
What Is The Option Instead Of Drain?
The BBL with no surgery is easier for patients to follow as they don’t have to feel more pain and discomfort. In most recoveries, doctors use no drains to prevent fluid collection at the surgery site by using a progressive tension sutures technique.
These progressive tension sutures help hold the skin of your lower body in place and avoid any space for the collection of fluid.
Your surgeon will provide or tell you to wear a unique compression garment that you have to wear for six months. It would help if you used a cushion when you sat or slept. Doctors recommend sleeping on the side after the BBL surgery.
You might like to read: Best Stage 1 Faja For BBL
What To Care for During Surgical Drains?
If you decide to have a drain after BBL, you may need to pay extra attention to your surgical drains to prevent infection or accident. Here are some guides on how to care for surgical drains:
Milk your tubes periodically.
Doctors advise manually squeezing out the contents of your drains to make sure proper drainage of fluid. Many people use this method of milking the tubes by themselves. However, some nurses will perform this to make sure that the pipes are clean.
This idea will reduce blood clots in the body, drain site, or within the drains. This method also reduces the chance of bloating from excess fluid and having an infection. When your drains collect the recommended amount of liquid, your doctor will remove it.
Watch the color of your drainage.
When you are using a drainage system to remove the excess fluid, you should remember to check the color of your drain. The color indicates the content of the drain or the formation of any infection. It may change from red to pink to light yellow and become clear as water when the wound is completely healed. In case of the following abnormal types of drainage, you should tell the nurse or your surgeon:
- The drain is red due to a large amount of blood.
- The drain is yellow, grey, green, pink, and brown due to pus.
- The drain is clear but smells foul.
- The drain site becomes red and swollen.
- Blood is gushing from drain sites.
Empty fluids
Experts recommend emptying the bulb when it is half full. This promising method will help you ensure by preventing any buildup of fluids within your body. It also lowers the risk of infection.
The doctor advises washing your hand thoroughly with soap before emptying the drains to prevent any transfer of germs to your drain site.
Avoid taking shower
Doctors recommend not to take a shower or bathe in the tube as it can dislodge your drain and cause bleeding. It would be best if you avoided it until you are completely healed or your doctor grants your permission. Your surgeon may tell you to bathe in a tub if it is safe for you.
Clean skin around your surgical drain
The drain is open to the air and is prone to infection. You should clean the skin around your surgical drain with water and soap to prevent the transfer of germs at the side. You can also seek help from your nurse or doctor, or nurse to clean the drain site.
Change the dressing around drain sites.
Thoroughly inspect the dressing and area around the drains for a sign of any infection. Your doctor may use a dressing or bandage according to the type of surgical drain. Your doctor may tell you how often the nurse should change it to a new dress. You should wash your incision site with soap and water. Clean the drain site and the skin with water and soap.
Follow your doctor’s advice.
You should follow your doctor’s advice on the healing process they give in their follow-up appointments of surgical drains. Your doctor helps you recover smoothly with speed.
You might like to read: Best Stage 2 Faja For BBL
When Should You Call Your Healthcare Provider?
BBL drain needs extra caution from both patient and doctor. You should call your healthcare provider or doctor right away if you experience any medical conditions, including:
- Fever and chills
- Swelling, redness, heat, and tenderness at the incision area
- Formation of cloudy, pus-like fluid with a foul smell
Also, you must pay notice to the type and amount of drainage that is coming out. If the fluid is bloody, colorless, or transparent serous fluid, it results from infection. Tell your surgeon or healthcare provider if you notice any change in your drainage fluid.
How and When Doctors Remove a Surgical Drain
Your surgeon can remove the surgical drains without requiring any further surgery or additional procedures. Doctors made a small incision to clear the drain. The sutures help hold the drain to prevent it from moving and accidentally dislodging.
When your doctor sees that there is no longer lymphatic drainage coming out, or they find it unnecessary to keep, they remove the drain by cutting the sutures first and gently pulling the drain out of the patient’s lower back abdomen.
Only an expert in care, physician, or nurse should pull out the drain tube according to the type of drain. It would help if you did not pull out the drain by yourself. If you feel any discomfort while the nurse removes it, you should tell them right away they may stop the procedure and find a way to remove it safely.
Generally, the drain has a capacity of removing 1 ounce of fluid. When the drain removes this amount in the first two days to three weeks after surgery, your doctor may withdraw or change your drain according to the need.
It may not hurt you, but you may feel it while removing the drain because it does not make a hole in your body, but it does the opposite. The nurse may dress the drain site or leave it open to the air. The doctor recommends avoiding swimming or bathing in a tab for two days. The drain will heal itself; after some time, your physician will remove it.
You might like to read: Best BBL Chair To Sleep In
Which Is Better: BBL Drain vs. No Drain?
BBL recovery is a long process. If you want to recover quickly without slowing down the process, you should get surgical drains done by your doctor. This technique is efficient in removing excess fluid from the patient’s body.
However, you have to rest in bed at the hospital and not walk for a few days. The no drain BBL is common as most people found its recovery phase easier. With no drain, you don’t have to worry about the rest in the recovery period. Also, you can do everyday activities with much difficulty.
However, discuss your BBL surgery options with your plastic surgeon if you’re still confused about no drain BBL.
