Drainage of the abdomen, proper selection and evaluation     ZHU Wei-ming.Department of General Surgery, Nanjing General Hospital of Nanjing Military Command, Nanjing 210002, China
Abstract    Although widely used in the clinic, abdominal drainage is often used improperly, the reason for which is inadequate knowledge about its complications. Drainage is not an alternative to satisfactory operation, nor can it make up the defect of surgery. The ultimate goal of surgery should be perfect operation with no need for drainage. In the selective cases with clear purposes we can use drainage. A sustained drainage may not drain adequately, and ascending bacterial infection may follow, it also hinders the ambulation of patients. Closed drainage is suitable for prophylactic use, and therapeutic drainage is often vacuum assisted. The drained fluid may not reflected the real event in the abdomen, and general analysis based on the history, physical findings and imaging studies should be made.