Beware of changes in your closed drainage system

Abstract

If you are using closed (suction) drainage after operations on the head and neck, be wary of changes in the system as these may have unfortunate consequences. Our suction drainage system was changed to a similar (but more “costeffective”) system without warning. The new system had a We urge any unit using a new closed drainage system to be sure that they appreciate the differences from their old drainage system particularly when the drain is being removed. If there is any concern that the vacuum has not been expelled, we recommend that in addition to disconnecting non-return valve that behaved differently from the previous system in that it maintained an effective vacuum, even after the tube had been disconnected from the bottle. This meant that a vacuum was present between the one-way valve and the patient, which resulted in pain and bleeding when attempts were made to remove the drain.