I was diagnosed and had two lymph nodes, nipple and a 1.5 cm tumour removed on 10th June. 4 weeks later the results showed nodes diseased so on 29th July last week had all nodes removed, fitted with a J-VAC drain. Got home the next day with very basic instructions on how to empty the drain and measure the contents.
They emptied it Weds, sent me home Thursday said to empty it every morning, but Thursday evening I didn’t think it would last until Fri morning so I emptied it. Was given a very large jug. Emptied drain 100mls in it.
Struggled to close the J-Vac bag.
Friday evening I emptied it, 50 mls which I had to guess because the large jug only had measurements from 100mls and above nothing under.
Saturday evening the same 50mls guesstimate.
Yesterday Sunday evening it was below the 50, guessed it about 35 to 40mls. Then the bag wouldn’t close to create the vacuum. My thumbs ended up so sore, couldn’t so I asked my partner and even he struggled with it, got it, then it popped so vacuum was lost. Tried a few times, same result. This by now was 9.30pm. So, I phoned the hospital as advised. ( which is miles way )
Nurse I spoke to told me to wiggle the top, no joy, asked how much was in it, I explained the large jug can’t take an accurate measurement. Asked if I have a syringe…no…do I have any smaller jug, yes but they’re the same they start at 100mls. I was very very concerned and got upset. Nurse said that she hadn’t dealt with one of these before ( Well Great! On a breast surgery ward and doesn’t know? )
Eventually my partner got it to stay closed and vacuum ok. Nurse was adamant I must get an accurate measurement, well if so, why was I given a large jug that doesn’t even measure below 100mls? I don’t even have a 5ml medicine spoon and anyway I wouldn’t spoon the liquid out to measure it. What kind of hospital sends a patient home with a jug this size? I said I’d speak to my GP in the morning. This was very much discouraged. ( wonder why? )
This morning my partner went to Boots Pharmacy and asked their advice, they very kindly gave him a small pot which measures up to 50mls. But, I’m dreading this evening because if this bag doesn’t close again what am I going to do ? It gets removed a week today 10th August. I can see a very long stressful week ahead. I won’t bother phoning the ward, I’ll head off to A&E which is 10 minutes away.
Had anyone else had a problem with their drain ?
Hello Pyp
I'm very sorry to hear of the issues you're experiencing with your drain and measuring the fluid.
I can't offer any advice as I had a lumpectomy, but I see your post has dropped to page two (it's such a busy group), that by answering I'm pushing your post back to the top of page one in the hope that there's someone around now who can give more insight.
I do hope the bag closes for you tonight, without issue.
Kindest wishes
Gosh that sounds bad. When my Mum was in hospital, it wasn't until later that I found a LOT of mistakes were made in her care which I believe led to her death. (including an overdose of medication by a junior doctor). A solicitor took my case on free of charge as he agreed with me, but because she survived 3 days in intensive care, there wasn't enough evidence to say that they actually killed her.
I was my Dad's power of attorney at the time and spoke to his solicitor who I was in contact with to do probate on my Mum's estate for my Dad. He said that his wife's parents had had issues in hospital and he recommended getting a business card for me as the visitor for when my Dad was in hospital (he had a multitude of medical issues) with contact details and "medical negligence assessor" on the card. He had got one printed for himself as a solicitor with the words medical negligence written on the description. He told me the level of care received after handing this card over as a visitor improved dramatically for the patient. Interesting eh?
This was a different area to the hospital where my Mum had been, so it's not just one hospital Trust that has these issues.
