Surgical drains are tubes used to remove fluids like pus, blood, or other liquids from a wound. They do not speed up healing directly but help drain fluids that could cause infection if left in the body. Drains decrease infection rates and healing times. They are indicated to eliminate dead space, drain existing fluid/gas accumulations, or prevent potential fluid/gas buildup. Drains can be flat, tube-based, open, closed, active with suction, or passive without suction. Common types include Jackson-Pratt drains, Hemovac drains, pigtail drains, Penrose drains, T-tubes, chest tubes, and urinary catheters.

1. Surgical drains

3. Definition
• A tube which is used to remove pus, blood 0r
other fluids from wound
• Don’t result in faster wound healing but necessary
to drain body fluid which may accumulate and in
itself become a focus of infection

4. Goals
• To decrease infection rate
• To decrease healing time

5. Indications
• To help eliminate dead space
• To evacuate existing accumulation of fluids or gas
• To prevent the potential accumulation of fluids or gas
• Accurate recording of the volume of drainage as well as to
ensure types of contents

6. Drain types
• Flat
Tube : single and double lumen
• Open
Closed
• Active : continuous ‘n intermittent suction
Passive

7. Flat drain
• Dependent on gravity action
• Drainage related to surface area
• Penrose
• Latex

9. Tube drain
Single lumen
• +/- side holes
• Silicone
Polyvinyl chloride
Red rubber

11. Double lumen

14. Active drains
• Maintained under sunction
• Can be under low or high pressure
• Vaccum pulls fluid / gas from wound
• Closed to atmosphere = closed to sunction
• Not gravity dependent
• Closed : Jackson pratt, hemovac drain
• Open : Sump drain

17. Passive drains
• Have no sunction
• Drains by means of pressure differentials, overflow and
gravity between body cavity and the exterior
• Open : Penrose drain, corrugated drain
• Closed : mostly preferred
NGT
T-tube
Foley’s catheter
• Flat or Lumen

21. Types of drain
• Jackson-pratt drain
• Hemovac drain
• Pigtail drain
• Penrose drain
• T-tube
• Chest tube
• Nasogastric tube
• Urinary catheter ( Foley’s balloon catheter)
• Malaecot’s catheter
• Corrugated drain

22. Jackson-pratt drain
• Used as negative pressure vaccum
• Used to remove fluids that build up in an area of body after
surgery
• Bulb shaped device connected to a drain
• One end of the tube is placed inside body and other end
comes out through a small cut in skin. The bulb is connected
to this end
• Commonly used in abdominal, breast and thoracic surgery

24. Hemovac drain
• Fine tube with many holes at end
• Attached to an evacuated bottle providing sunction
• Used to drain blood under skin

25. Pigtail drain
• Sterile, thin, long with a locking tip that form a pigtail
shape
• Has several holes which facilitates drainage process
• Inserted under radiological guidance to ensure correct
positioning
• Uses
Draining abscess
Draining unwanted fluid from organ

26. Penrose drain
• Soft and flexible
• No collection device
• Empties into absorptive dressing material
• Drainage moves from area of greater pressure in
surgical site to the area of less pressure
• Acts like straw to pull fluids

27. T-tube
• Consists of a stem and a cross head
• Cross head is placed into CBD and stem is connected to a
small pouch
• Used as temporary drainage of CBD

30. Nasogastric tube
• A tube passes through the nostrils to stomach
Types of Tubes
Short tubes: passed through the nose into the stomach
• Levin tube: range in size from 14 to 18 Fr, single lumen made of plastic or
rubber with holes near the tip.
• Gastric Sump (Salem): is radiopaque, clear plastic double lumen
Medium Tubes: tubes are passed through the nose to the duodenum and the
jejunum. Used for feeding
• Polyurethane or silicone rubber feeding tubes have a narrower diameter
(6 to 12fr) and require the use of a stylet for insertion
Long tubes: passed through the nose, through the esophagus and stomach into
the intestines. Used for decompression of the intestines

31. Indications
Therapeutic
• Administration of food/medication
• Gastric decompression
• Lavage
Diagnostic
• Aspiration of gastric juice
• Evaluation of UGI bleed
• Identification of the oesophagus and stomach on a chest radiograph
• Administration of radiographic contrast to the GI tract

32. Complications
• Patient discomfort
• Intracranial placement
• Trauma to nasopharynx
• Epistaxis
• Respiratory tree intubation
• Oesophageal perforation
• Nausea
• Blockage of tube

33. Urinary catheter (foley’s balloon catheter)
• Self retaining
• 2 ways ‘n 3 ways
• Hollow, flexible tubes used to collect urine
• Balloon capacity : 30-50 ml
• Many sizes and types
• Can be made up of rubber, latex, silicone
• Tube leads to a drainage bag that holds collected urine
Indications
• Urethral obstruction
• Neurogenic bladder
• Major surgeries
• Urinary incontinence
• Tube nephrostomy
• Caecostomy
Sterilization
• Gamma irradiation

34. Malaecot’s catheter
• 26 fr
• Self retaining catheter
• Retained after its introduction by its dilated winged
end
• Autoclave
Uses
• Like foley’s catheter

35. Corrugated Drain
• Drain made of the red rubber/ plastic or polyurethane
• The drain has a groove on the surface of the drain, that helps in the drainage of
the fluid and bleeding
• It is cheaper than other tubes.
• The duration of the drain in the surgical wound is about 3- 4 days of the
operation.
• It is used in such a surgical operation like thyroidectomy, hydrocele
Complication
• Fluid drainage from the wound can’t estimate.
• The infection rate high when compared to other closed drains.
• vacuum failure