Tummy tuck: My drains are not filling up, is this normal?

I encourage you to "strip" or "milk" the drains. If this wasn't explained, call your plastic surgeon and ask the nurse or staff-member to verbally walk you through it on the phone. Your drains might just need a little extra help. Best of luck.

Normally there is more drainage immediately after the procedure, and this tapers off over the first week. The first thing you need to do is ensure that the drains are working properly and that you understand proper drain management. Ensure that the JP drain bulbs are squeezed and remain compressed. You should also strip the drains if you were shown how to do that. If this was not explained to you, you should call your doctor. Assuming that the drains are working properly, different patients will often have different amounts of drainage. Sometimes as the days go by and you increase your activities, the drain output will also increase. Discuss this with your surgeon.  Best wishes.

Thank you for your questions. Although I do not know the details of your procedure, I would expect there to be some drainage on day one. You need to make sure the drain tubes are not kinked or the sutures holding the drains in place are not too tight and closing off the drain. You also need to make sure you are "charging" the drains properly to make sure they have suction on them. The best thing you can do is call your surgeon to discuss your concerns and be evaluated to find out what is going on. Hope this helps!