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POSTOPERATIVE INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAJOR
SURGERY
There are a few basic things to keep in
mind in the early days and weeks after major surgery. Please use this
handout as a general guide. Your doctor’s nurse will be calling to talk
with you during the first week after you return home. If you have
concerns or questions at any point, please feel free to call our office
between the hours of 8:30 and 5PM. If you have an urgent problem after
hours, you may call the same office number and have the doctor on call
paged.
Most
patients are surprised at how tired they feel after major surgery. This
is due in part to anesthesia, but also because the body is working hard
to heal itself. You should not expect to have much energy initially,
and should therefore not plan any tiring activities for the first two
weeks. However, gently increasing your activities by taking walks around
your home, and slowly building back to normal activities will actually
shorten your recovery time. It is now known that prolonged bed rest is
not healthy at all, and can in fact lead to serious postoperative
complications (blood clots and pneumonia).
Warm
showers are encouraged, and help to keep incisions clean. Initially you
may want to have someone near by while you shower in case you feel faint
or become dizzy. You can use a blow dryer to dry your incision (this is
especially helpful if you have steri-strips over your incision).
You can expect your appetite to slowly
return to normal. Initially, you should eat bland, highly nutritious
meals to give your body the vitamins it needs to heal. Taking a good
multivitamin is also recommended. It is easy to become constipated
after major surgery, especially when using narcotic pain medications and
spending more time in bed resting. A good way to avoid constipation is
to increase your fluid intake (6-8 glasses of water each day) and to
choose fresh fruits and vegetables with each meal.
Sexual
intercourse and tampon use should be avoided until after your 4-6 week
checkup. You may notice a slight bloody discharge for the first 6
weeks, but this should be fairly scant. If you have any heavy bleeding
or pass large clots, you should notify your doctor immediately.
Pain
medication can be very helpful, but excessive use can be a problem. The
best initial response to pain is REST. If this does not relieve
your pain, then pain medicine should be used. Please call your doctor
if you have severe pain unrelieved by rest and pain medicine.
It is
important to have a thermometer, and to check your temperature if you
have chills or feel feverish. If you have a temperature of >100.4,
please notify your doctor. Other symptoms we would want you to notify us
of are:
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Incision pain that is becoming worse instead of better
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Signs of
infection—wound drainage or redness, foul smelling vaginal discharge,
or urinary frequency or burning
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Pain,
redness or swelling in either leg
Your doctor
is looking forward to seeing you again in the office approximately
several weeks after surgery. Your nurse will offer to help you schedule
this appointment when she calls to check on you. We hope that your
recovery will be brief, and we look forward to assisting you in any way
we can.
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