Management of Tubes, Drains, and Catheters

As a surgical resident in the early 1990s it seemed that the management of surgical tubes was largely based on the discretion of staff. At the time we kept our patients in the hospital for a lot longer than we do now in part due to our lack of knowledge in this area. Like all medical interventions we know that drains are a source of pain, complications, and prolonged recovery but still benefits outweigh risk in some cases. There is still much to be understood on the appropriate use of various surgically placed tubes but in this chapter we discuss possible best practices.