Hello, I had robotic prostate surgery last week. I had to stay in the hospital 6 days because of excessive bleeding. They sent me home with a Jp valve but fluid is still coming out. Is this normal? Or is it indicative of a more serious problem? Just a little worried, that’s all. Thanks
Hello BA1965
Thanks for getting in touch and welcome to our online community. My name is Suzanne and I am one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists here at Macmillan.
I can see that you are a member of our Prostate cancer forum and hope that you are finding this supportive. Hopefully you have been able to reach out to others who have had surgery recently.
Your concerns about fluid still coming out from your JP Drain are understandable, especially if your surgery was last week.
Quite often after robotic prostate surgery the drain only needs to be in place for a few days, but this does vary from one person to another. In some cases, especially if you have had complications or are draining large amounts, the drain may need to stay in longer.
As a precaution, and especially if you are worried, we would always recommend that you get in touch with either your surgical team, GP or Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) to discuss your concerns. That way they can either reassure you or, depending on how much fluid is still coming out, they may arrange to remove the drain.
If for any reason you are unable to get through to any of the above professionals, you can call the 111 service 24 hours a day for advice and support .
It is particularly important to reach out straight away if the amount of fluid is increasing, you notice any swelling, or you feel unwell / have a temperature.
If you were not given a patient information leaflet after your surgery. You may find this general guide around going home with a surgical drain helpful.
Recovering from cancer surgery can be challenging physically and emotionally so we are here to support you whenever you need to reach out. If it would help to talk through any thoughts or concerns, please do reach out to us on the support line.
Best wishes and take care,
Suzanne, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist
You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email.
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