Hi all i have surgery on friday which will be day surgery. Ill be sent home with drains and instructions how to empty them etc. Im a bit worried as 21 years ago when i had my first mastectomy and reconstruction, i wasnt allowed home until the drains were removed. I get things have moved on but im just hoping i can cope with the drains.
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Dear suzynight,
Wishing you well for next Friday, I think this is quite normal now days, a dear friend of mine had surgery last Friday left hospital with one drain it was removed today. (She’s doing very well)
Please let us know how you are getting on
Hugs Tili 
I went home with one drain which stayed in for 7 days. The ward arranged for the district nurses to pop in and check on me. Perhaps you could ask if this is possible and/or ask the GP?
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@susynight sorry you find yourself back here after all that time.
I had my first mastectomy November 2024 and was worried about dealing with the drain too. (I’m quite squeamish). It turned out to be quite easy though, thankfully. It was more of a hassle having to carry it around all the time rather than having to change it. I’m not sure if yours will be different if you have to empty it but mine I didn’t empty but rather just changed the whole bottle. The nurses are really good at explaining it though. I even asked if they could show my friend how to do it in case I couldn’t do it and they were fine with that.
Hope all goes well with your surgery and you recover quickly. I’ve got my second one on 30th. 
Thanks all for the helpful replies. Think im feeling ok about it now. Good luck with any surgery and treatments moving forward though. Its great we have all this support from each other.
In 2004 there was very little social media as far as i remember. I found some chat forums a few years later when i had reconstruction pain and searched for help.
I go for my magseed fitting on Thursday so thats the next step before fridays surgery!
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Hi @susynight I had surgery last Tuesday.
Stayed overnight although it was supposed to be a day case, so pack an overnight bag that can be taken in for you just in case!
I had my drain out on Saturday. I didn’t need to change it even though I was given spares, however I was visited by nurses who I’m sure would have done it for me had I needed it.
Thanks for your reply leelee1 do you mind me asking what made them decide to keep you in? I will definitely get an overnight bag ready just incase!
Of course not, I had low platelets beforehand and bled a bit during the surgery so had a couple of transfusions, so they just kept me in to be able to repeat bloods in the morning 
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I stayed in overnight as I was on the afternoon list and didnt come out of theatre until 5 or 5.30pm. I was told beforehand that I’d be staying in.
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Thanks for reply. Thats good to know then. Theyre putting magseed in on Thursday so said ill be done in the morning. I guess it could change though. Its hard to know what time to organise my lift home really!
Its best to take some stuff with you I think, just in case things get delayed or something. It’s much nicer to have your own pj’s and wash stuff!!
We only live about 20 minutes from the hospital so when they gave me the ok for going home my husband just jumped in the car when I messaged him 
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Thanks for all the replies. Well im nearly there. Had my magseed put in this afternoon and surgery tomorrow. Looks like itll definitely be day surgery but they said take overnight stuff just incase. Ill definitely have a drain or 2. I may have a complication as the surgery is in my LD reconstructed breast and they have to be careful not to damage the blood supply when taking out lymph nodes. Good luck to anyone else having surgery tomorrow xx
When I had my pre-op I asked if they knew where I was on the list, luckily I was first, so you could always ask the question if you have any appointments before hand.
Xx
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Good luck tomorrow
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@susynight Good luck today!
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@ suzynight hope you’ve had your op and all is ok
All done and dusted thankyou. Felt rubbish yesterday but much better today. Am keeping on top of the pain and coping with the drain. Hopefully its just in till i go back to the dressings clinic on Friday. Hope everyone else who has recently had surgery is ok xx
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That’s good news. Rest and don’t overdo it!!
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@susynight I was sent home the morning after both my mastectomy (with immediate reconstruction) and after my axilla lymph node removal. It’s all fine. You are given a lovely tote bag to carry your drain around in. I had mine for less than the 10 days on each occassion and the district nurse fitted a lovely small pouch about 5 days after one of the surgeries and similar situation after the second. I used the little clip on the drainage bottle to clip them to my PJs at bedtime and I even bought a really cheap bag from Amazon that looked more like a handbag to go to the cinema and look/feel a bit normal. It’s a bit of a nuisance but you soon get used to it. Good luck x
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Woke up this morning with a leaking drain and the stitch has come out thats holding it in! Will have to ring bcn i suppose x