- Across 55 studies, 60.1% of surgical site infections appeared after the patient left the hospital (Surgical Infections, 2016).
- Empty the bulb about every 4 to 6 hours for the first few days, or as your surgeon says, and write down the time, amount and color each time (Cleveland Clinic; Memorial Sloan Kettering).
- Sources use different fever numbers: Cleveland Clinic says 100.4°F (38°C) or more; Memorial Sloan Kettering says 101°F (38.3°C) or higher. Use the number your surgeon gives you.
- Wash hands before and after touching a wound, scrubbing for at least 20 seconds (CDC).
- Trouble breathing or chest pain means emergency help now (CDC).
In this article
- Why does wound and drain care at home matter after surgery?
- What is a JP drain, and how does it work?
- How do you empty and measure a JP drain?
- What do you do if the drain stops draining?
- How do you care for the skin around the drain and the incision?
- When should you call the surgeon, and when should you call 911?
- What do the sources agree on, and where do they differ?
- Who is WholeHealth Concierge?
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
Why does wound and drain care at home matter after surgery?
Most surgical site infections are found after the patient is home, so the person changing the dressing and emptying the drain is often the first to see a problem.
A systematic review of 55 studies covering 1,432,293 operations in 15 countries found that 60.1% of the 141,347 surgical site infections appeared after discharge, although the share varied widely between studies, from 13.5% to 94.8% (Woelber and colleagues, Surgical Infections, 2016). The same review calls these infections the most common type of healthcare-associated infection and the leading reason for readmission after surgery in the United States. In a study of 551,510 adults after inpatient general surgery, problems at the surgical site, infections and blood clots were the most common complications after discharge (Kazaure and colleagues, Archives of Surgery, 2012).
The CDC defines a surgical site infection as an infection in the part of the body where the surgery took place, and lists redness and pain around the area, cloudy fluid draining from the wound and fever as signs (CDC, April 2024). Our page on post-surgery nursing at home in Orange County covers how recovery at home is planned before the operation.
What the sources say about wounds and drains
Numbers from different sources and groups of patients. Your surgeon's instructions set the numbers that apply to you.
What is a JP drain, and how does it work?
A JP drain, short for Jackson-Pratt, is a flexible tube placed during surgery that carries fluid from the surgical area into a soft plastic bulb outside the body.
Memorial Sloan Kettering describes a soft plastic bulb with a stopper and a flexible tube attached. Squeezing the bulb flat creates the suction, so the bulb should stay compressed at all times except while you empty it (Caring for Your Jackson-Pratt Drain). For drains after cosmetic procedures, see our page on a plastic surgery recovery nurse at home.
How do you empty and measure a JP drain?
Wash your hands, open the stopper without touching the opening, pour the fluid into a measuring container, squeeze the bulb flat, close it, write down the amount, and wash your hands again.
- Get ready: a measuring container, a pen and the drain log below. Wash your hands with soap and warm water, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Move the fluid down: pinch the tubing about a finger's length from where it leaves the skin and slide your fingers toward the bulb.
- Open and pour: remove the stopper and pour the fluid into the measuring container, keeping your fingers off the opening.
- Restore suction: squeeze the bulb completely flat and put the stopper back while it is still flat.
- Record and finish: write down the time, the amount and what it looked like, then wash your hands again. Repeat for each drain.
Cleveland Clinic says to empty the drain as often as needed to keep the bulb compressed, generally every 4 to 6 hours for the first few days until the amount decreases, and to note the time, amount and appearance each time (Cleveland Clinic, last updated October 23, 2023). Memorial Sloan Kettering tells its patients to empty the drain twice a day, morning and evening, and to log the amount and color, with a separate record for each drain (Memorial Sloan Kettering). Follow the schedule your surgeon gives you.
A drain log to bring to the follow-up visit
Keep one log per drain if there is more than one. Memorial Sloan Kettering asks patients to call if drainage suddenly drops or increases by 100 mL.
What do you do if the drain stops draining?
If no fluid reaches the bulb, a clot may be blocking the tube; Memorial Sloan Kettering describes milking the tubing to push clots toward the bulb. If you cannot move a clot and little or no fluid reaches the bulb, call the surgeon right away.
To milk the tube, Memorial Sloan Kettering describes pinching the tubing near the skin with one hand and sliding a pinch of the other hand down the tubing, pushing any clots toward the bulb (Memorial Sloan Kettering). Cleveland Clinic says the care team will teach you how to empty the drain yourself if you go home with one, so ask them to show you milking too, since the right grip is easier to see than to read (Cleveland Clinic).
How do you care for the skin around the drain and the incision?
Keep both clean and dry, follow the surgeon's dressing instructions, look at the skin each time you empty the drain, and wash your hands before and after.
- Around the drain: Memorial Sloan Kettering says to check the insertion site for tenderness, swelling, pus, warmth or extra redness, and to keep it clean and dry by washing it with soap and water and gently patting it dry (Memorial Sloan Kettering).
- The incision: stitches, staples, skin glue or tape strips are cared for as the surgeon instructs. The CDC lists redness and pain around the surgery area, cloudy fluid draining from the wound and fever as signs of infection, and says to call your healthcare provider immediately if you notice them (CDC, April 2024).
- Hands: the CDC lists before and after treating a cut or wound among the key times to wash hands, scrubbing for at least 20 seconds (CDC, February 16, 2024).
When should you call the surgeon, and when should you call 911?
Call the surgeon right away for fever, spreading redness, bright red or bad-smelling drainage, or a drain that falls out or stops working; get emergency help for trouble breathing or chest pain.
Get emergency help now, or call the surgeon
- Trouble breathing
- Chest pain that gets worse with a deep breath or cough
- Coughing up blood, a fast or irregular heartbeat, or fainting
- Fever: 100.4°F (38°C) or more (Cleveland Clinic), 101°F (38.3°C) or higher (Memorial Sloan Kettering), or your surgeon's number
- More redness, tenderness, swelling, warmth or pus where the tube enters, or skin hot to the touch
- Bright red drainage, or drainage that is smelly, green, milky white or thick
- A clot you cannot move with little or no drainage, or a bulb you cannot compress
- The tube falls out, or drainage suddenly drops or increases by 100 mL
- Redness, pain or cloudy fluid at the incision
Sources: Memorial Sloan Kettering, Caring for Your Jackson-Pratt Drain; Cleveland Clinic, Jackson-Pratt (JP) Drain (October 2023); CDC, Surgical Site Infection Basics (April 2024) and About Venous Thromboembolism (March 2025: seek medical help immediately for clot-in-the-lung signs). Your surgeon's instructions come first. If in doubt, call 911.
What do the sources agree on, and where do they differ?
They agree on clean hands, a written log and the warning signs. They differ on the fever number, on how often to empty and on when a drain is ready to come out, which is why the surgeon's own numbers come first.
Where the guidance matches, differs or is missing
Our reading of the sources listed below. Research on these groups is about those studies, not a measure of any one provider's results. WholeHealth Concierge is not affiliated with Cleveland Clinic or Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Who is WholeHealth Concierge?
WholeHealth Concierge is a private-pay concierge nursing practice serving families across Orange County, Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, and it does not bill Medicare.
In California, a registered nurse's work includes observing signs and symptoms, judging whether they are abnormal, and reporting, referring or starting emergency procedures, as the Board of Registered Nursing's explanation of RN practice describes (NPR-B-03, revised 2011). Our founder, Meagan Williams, holds California RN license 95328380. You can look it up on the state's license search.
Every plan starts with a free 15-minute phone consultation. Read more about post-surgery nursing at home in Orange County, or call (213) 298-3288.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a surgical drain stay in?
Your surgeon decides, usually from the daily amounts in your log. Cleveland Clinic says JP drains usually stay in no more than two weeks, depending on the case. Memorial Sloan Kettering tells its patients to call when drainage is 30 milliliters or less in 24 hours, and notes that a surgeon may keep a drain in longer after some procedures.
Can I shower with a JP drain?
Only if your surgeon says so. Cleveland Clinic says your provider may say it is OK to clean the drain site in the shower, and to avoid soaking in a tub or pool while the drain is in.
How do you know if a JP drain is infected?
Watch the skin where the tube enters and the fluid in the bulb. Cleveland Clinic lists a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or more, redness, swelling, warmth or more pain at the site, and drainage that is smelly, green, milky white or thick as signs of infection to report right away.
Who teaches you to care for a JP drain?
The care team before you leave. Cleveland Clinic says the provider empties the drain in the hospital and will teach you how to do it yourself if you go home with one. Ask to practice emptying and milking the tube once while staff are there.
What if the drain tube falls out?
Call your surgeon. Memorial Sloan Kettering lists a tube that falls out of the insertion site among the reasons to call, along with a bulb you cannot compress.
How do I talk to WholeHealth Concierge about drain and wound care after surgery?
WholeHealth Concierge is a private-pay concierge nursing practice serving families across Orange County, Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, and it does not bill Medicare. Planning starts with a free 15-minute phone consultation at (213) 298-3288.
Sources
Statements on this page come from the public sources below, each opened and checked on the date shown. Journal studies were read as their published abstracts. This page is general information; your surgeon's instructions come first. WholeHealth Concierge provides nursing care and coordination; diagnosis and prescribing stay with your physicians and other licensed prescribers.
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, "Caring for Your Jackson-Pratt Drain" (WholeHealth Concierge is not affiliated with Memorial Sloan Kettering). mskcc.org. Accessed November 5, 2026.
- Cleveland Clinic, "Jackson-Pratt (JP) Drain," last updated October 23, 2023 (WholeHealth Concierge is not affiliated with Cleveland Clinic). my.clevelandclinic.org. Accessed November 5, 2026.
- Woelber E et al., "Proportion of Surgical Site Infections Occurring after Hospital Discharge: A Systematic Review," Surgical Infections, 2016. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Accessed November 4, 2026.
- Kazaure HS, Roman SA, Sosa JA, "Association of postdischarge complications with reoperation and mortality in general surgery," Archives of Surgery, 2012. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Accessed November 4, 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Surgical Site Infection Basics," April 11, 2024. cdc.gov. Accessed November 4, 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "About Venous Thromboembolism (Blood Clots)," March 5, 2025. cdc.gov. Accessed November 4, 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "About Handwashing," February 16, 2024. cdc.gov. Accessed November 4, 2026.
- California Board of Registered Nursing, "An Explanation of the Scope of RN Practice Including Standardized Procedures," NPR-B-03, revised January 2011. rn.ca.gov (PDF). Accessed November 1, 2026.
- California Department of Consumer Affairs, License Search. search.dca.ca.gov. Accessed November 1, 2026.