June 23, 2017

I Should Be Empty Now. . .*

A PleruX drain was installed in my abdomen on Wednesday and was a little more involved than just having a paracentesis.  I had conscious sedation this time, and some pain since then, although that is getting better.

This afternoon Jana and I performed my first drain.  They had drained about 1 L on
Wednesday, and we drained another liter today.  Today's drain was done more to learn the procedure than to remove fluid, so I was surprised when we filled a liter vacuum bottle.  We'll drain again in a couple of days to see if this first procedure was a fluke or whether I need to drain frequently.  I had thought once a week might be enough.

David

PS  When we returned home from having Afghan kabobs this evening, I noticed that my shirt was wet under my jacket.  It turned out that my dressing was leaking fluid, so I called UC Hospital to talk with the Interventional Radiology fellow on call.  He said that I probably had not drained enough fluid from my abdomen and to do the procedure again.  I was skeptical, but we did the procedure.  I was surprised to drain another liter of fluid which make 2,000 ml, the maximum for one day.  It looks like I may be doing more draining than I expectd.
DD

*Sung to the tune of "I Can See Clearly Now."

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