FTM's and Transitioning

[Thinker]

Originally Posted by EnderD_503

Congrats again, Atomic!



I dunno exactly why it is that the way some docs do it don't need drains, but apparently the doc I'm looking at using in Mississauga, if I ever manage to save enough money, (Dr. McLean) doesn't use drains either. Maybe someone who knows more can shed some light on why some docs use them and others don't...?

It's weird that you mention that Atomic, cause I heard the opposite...blah, I dunno lol Edit: I've heard of very few who don't use drains though, so I dunno if no drains is actually something new/better or just unorthodox.

Hey Ender... Dr. DuPere in Toronto was my surgeon. I had the full-on bilateral male chest reconstruction w/ nipple grafts, and he opted not to use drains too. I was under the impression he made that decision during the course of the surgery though.

The first question I remember asking him was about the drains, and his reply was that he didn't feel they were necessary. I took that to mean I wasn't draining a whole lot. ??? I also took it to mean that it could be case-by-case with him.

I've read quite a bit on the subject, and most of what I've seen indicates that the use of drains is like what Drew said......to increase healing time and reduce the possibility of infection. All I've really seen on the flip side is that the surgeon feels they aren't necessary.

I would hope that if the surgeon determined the patient was going to sit with a lot of fluid buildup over the next 3 or 4 days, he/she would opt to use drains.

Of course, this is all just speculation on my part based on what I have read.