Hospital Bags To and Fro: Luggage and Mastectomy Drains

This post is about items I needed packed in my hospital bags that's helped throughout the stay and then will continue to be useful for the next week or two. In particular an item I'm grateful for is a drainage holder.

A drainage holder is something that lets me put the drains that they placed on me during surgery. These drains, tubes with hand-sized plastic bulbs on the ends, run under the arms at the level of the breast. The tubes and end-bulb allow for fluids to drain out of the site of incision. The purpose is to prevent or minimize infection. When lying down these just sit untangled on my belly or next to me on the bed. Kinks are removed to avoid fluid clotting in the tubes. Clotting in these tubes would contribute to infection which is not ideal. There is a ritual a few times a day in which someone pinches the end closest to the incision with one hand, then uses the other hand to squeeze the stagnant fluids into the bulb (one cancer survivor friend called the bulb a hand grenade). Then the bulb or grenade gets emptied into a measuring cup. Not only does this let the body drain the fluids that need a place to go, the measuring cup content is recorded to keep track of patterns -- like more or less fluids, lighter or darker, thicker or thinner. Temperature is also taken to make sure I'm not fighting infection. Im supposed to call the surgeon for any sign of infection.

So getting back on topic -- the drainage 'holder' lets me stand and move around freely without these dangling from incision site. If these pull they hurt.

Any holder for the drains work. Pockets, runner water bottle holders, bags. I researched by asking other cancer survivors and by visiting breast cancer chat rooms. One guy recommended an apron and I thought this was a good idea until it started pulling on my chest. Ideally something that doesn't pull on chest is better -- like waist fanny packs.

Here are some products I found in the web.

Pink pockets
http://www.pink-pockets.com/en/buy-now/

http://www.healincomfort.com/

Drain holders discussion at breastcancer.org
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/6/topic/765404

Other Hospital Bag Items:
Clothes I can slip on easily
More tba


a set of two drains on one side of my body:

Here my husband is stripping the tube. This is done 3 times a day so that the tube does not clot. To strip a tube you pinch the side closest to where the tube is stitched into the body. Then with the other hand you grab an alcohol wipe and squeeze all the fluids down into the bulb (making sure the bulb is open or else the pressure is intense). Once you finish doing this stripping, you pour contents into a measuring cup and record it (along with other data such as thickness, color):

All four drains. One and two are on my right side; three and four are on my left side:

Once the whole process is complete the 'bulbs' or 'grenades' go back into whatever holder is keeping them from dangling on the body (this would not be fun). The hospital doesn't supply this so it's important to have an option when going into the hospital stay post-mastectomy. A camisole is provided for this purpose, however, in my case (and I think in many people's cases) the bags that are sewn into the camisole are not reachable -- and too tight -- even after getting a size camisole that is two times bigger than my size)