Post-Surgery Paraphernalia

After surgery, I come home with a brand new pair of boobs and a whole lot of annoyance. I had drains, a bra with approximately 4,000,000 hooks, and strict instructions to sleep only on my back for months, and not use my arms. Can you imagine a T-Rex trying to get out of a fluffy bed? Yeah, that was totally me.

I got a lot of advice and recommendations from friends who had undergone top surgery. For them, top surgery was a joyful gift and they had done their researching and planning in excitement. It made for some very happy conversations during a difficult time.

What TF to do with your drains: Lanyards, pouches, or drain tops

There are a few options for keeping your drains safe and tug-free after surgery. My doctor scared me with tales of people who got a tube hooked on a door knob and pulled out a drain tube. This did not happen to me, but I did tug too hard when clearing one, and, yeah, totally worth extra efforts to make sure you minimize the risk. Your drains should come with little clips to secure them to whatever safety options you choose.

Your most basic option is a lanyard. It’s a sturdy loop around your neck like you’d have for a name badge. You clip your drain bulbs the lanyard and go. These can get uncomfortable walking around and tug while sleeping. I also didn’t like them because it meant there was occasional pressure on my chest, which was a bit tender after bilateral surgery. They are your best option for showering though. It makes is easier to keep the drains away from he shower spray and they’ll dry fairly quickly after you take the lanyard off. Walking around with a wet lanyard from the shower or sweating will lead to chafing. My skin was already delicate and thin from treatment so chafing risk is something to be aware of.

Pouches and fanny packs; I didn’t try a fanny pack but did try pouches. That said, I’d probably recommend the fanny pack route. The pouches are 2 pockets hanging from a belt that hold your drains – one for each side. Mine had a separator so it could hold up to 4 drains. This system did not work for me. Part of that might have been that I am pretty short. The drains hung really low because of the depth of the pockets, and because they were free-floating on the pouch belt, they bounced around while I walked which was annoying. The pouches are usually adjustable around the belt, since everyone has a different waist size, but this meant that as I walked they kept shifting to the middle so I ended up with all my drains bouncing against my tummy. I was able to tuck them into my sweats, but that obviously wouldn’t work with any other type of trousers. Not ideal.

A fanny pack would have kept them closer to my body and securely in place. They would probably function just as well as a drain shirt if you found the right style/sizing. If you’re planning to go this route, you’d want to get it ahead of time, and maybe put some apples in the pocket and walk around for a bit to be sure they stay in the right place and are comfortable.

Drain shirts: this was my favorite option by far. I used the Pink Pepper Mastectomy Top. A lot of the tops online had the drain pockets on the outside. This makes them easier to just drop the drains in but it leaves the tubes and clips on the outside where they might be attracted to door knobs and handles and arms of chairs or the fingers of curious children. The Pink Pepper top I used had the bulb pockets on the INSIDE. It was a bit of a faff getting them in the first few times but once I got used to it it was easy. The shirts, fitted properly, keep the drains just below your waist and solidly in place. The shirts that I used were soft enough to sleep in comfortably. With the tubes and bulbs safely tucked away inside the shirt I had no accidental tugs.

Mastectomy pillow

My mastectomy pillow was one of my best “splurges”. They fit around your chest and tuck under your arms providing a nice soft cushion between your newly removed breasts and the world. Mine was from Pink Pepper since I was already getting my drain management things from them. They pretty much all look the same online, though, so I imagine just finding one at your price point is the way to go.

I had two main places where the pillow was worth it’s very slight weight in gold.

First – driving. That seat belt applies more pressure than you think, especially on turns. Driving annoyed my port but a little crocheted cover was sufficient to protect it for the most part. My big puffy winter coat was enough for being a passenger, but, apparently, not all surgeries take place in the winter in the Midwest. Shockingly.

Second – being anywhere near my children. My children were too small to understand “do not jump on, enthusiastically hug, or treat mom like a pillow”. And sitting down for hours made me an easy target for the rambunctious affections of my little ones. So, when sitting on the couch watching a movie or reading to the kiddos I wore the pillow and it protected me from all the jostling and bumps that go along with reading to toddlers and being a parent. It was also large enough that they couldn’t try to sit on my lap. I hadn’t realized that reading was a contact sport in our house until I had a port.

Button down shirts

When you get your drains out you will probably still need to wear button down shirts. My doctor didn’t let me lift my arms above my head for a full 8 weeks. Make sure you’ve got a few to wear for those first weeks. If you get the mastectomy tops, they are all button downs made in stretch fabric so are easy to get on and off in those first weeks after surgery. In the later weeks I was able to wear very loose necked knit tops but you’ll definitely need your surgeon’s approval to make that change.

Coming home

I’ve avoided saying much about my own experiences or interpersonal things here since treatment is so different for everyone, but, friends suggested I provide a little more context about how we managed me coming home after full top surgery. I had two small children waiting for me and it made things… complicated.

First, I didn’t go straight home: I went to my parents’ house for 5 days until I was able to get up and down on my own, had my drain management skills down pat, and was a whole lot more alert. My amazing sister went to my house to help my partner with the kids for the week.

Second, and this is a ridiculously privileged: we have a granny flat in our basement. I slept there for another week. My kids missed me and it was difficult to keep them off me, so, I couldn’t be around them alone. They are smart and sneaky and good at getting around any impediments so I slept and rested on the other side of a deadbolt. And that amazing sister, she stayed for this week, too.

These accommodations are, obviously, insanely entitled. But, I hope they give an idea of the scope of the challenge of coming home after certain types of surgery.