Surgical drains and systems and methods for using same

A method for applying suction tamponade to a uterus of a patient following pelvic surgery, the method comprising:

• placing a surgical drain with a positioning mechanism in the patient's body so that a drainage component of the surgical drain extends into a uterine cavity of the patient, the positioning mechanism sits in the uterine cavity, and a portion of a tube of the surgical drain extends through a cervical canal and a vaginal canal of the patient, wherein the drainage component includes a drain lumen in communication with a tube lumen of the tube, the drainage component includes at least one opening configured to allow fluid to enter the drainage lumen to be evacuated from the uterus via the tube lumen, and the positioning mechanism includes a plurality of extensions, wherein each extension separately and approximately orthogonally extends from a shaft that encircles a portion of an exterior surface of the tube, does not touch an adjacent extension of the plurality when the positioning mechanism is in an open configuration, and is configured to move independently of an adjacent extension of the plurality, and wherein one or more extensions of the plurality of extensions have a curved shape along their width with a concave curvature configured to correspond to a diameter of the tube so that the one or more extensions may fold closely to the tube when in a folded configuration;
• coupling the first end of the tube to a source of suction;
• and
• applying an amount of negative pressure to the tube using the source of suction, the amount of negative pressure being sufficient to contract the patient's uterus, wherein the negative pressure is communicated to the uterine cavity via the tube lumen, drain lumen, and the at least one opening.