RECOVERY GUIDELINES

  • Walking is essential! It helps with recovery, decreasing discomfort and decreasing your chance for developing blood clots.
  • Your diet is very important. Your surgeon will discuss important dietary instructions for your operation. In general, both anesthesia and surgery decrease your gastrointestinal system’s ability to function properly. Nausea and bloating is common postoperatively. To keep this at bay, focus on walking as discussed above. For the first day or two after surgery, stay on a soft, bland diet – such as chicken soup, broth, and Gatorade. It is essential that you stay hydrated with plenty of fluids. As the days pass, hunger is a sign you are improving. Once your bowel function returns, you can begin to advance your diet back to normal.
  • Your incisions are often closed with absorbable sutures. Typically, these sutures are protected with an adhesive dressing called Dermabond. This makes your incisions water resistant. You may shower as early as 24 hours after surgery. Do not scrub your incisions but you can pat them dry. Over the next couple of weeks, the Dermabond will slowly flake off.
  • If you have a gauze dressing in place after surgery, leave it in place and cover it for showers. “Press-N-Seal” or any plastic wrap taped over the dressing works well, and you can shower normally. If the dressing gets wet, simply remove it and replace with a dry gauze dressing.
  • It takes approximately four to six weeks to fully heal from surgery. Depending on your operation, your surgeon will discuss individualized instructions regarding activity in your postoperative period. In general, light exercise may be resumed after two weeks (walking on treadmill, elliptical, light arm lifts). Just be smart. If it feels uncomfortable, let someone else take the load. More strenuous exercise can be resumed slowly after four to six weeks (abdominal exercises like sit-ups and crunches). Any discomfort is an indication you are not fully healed and need more time.
  • Depending on your operation, you may need pain medications for a variable number of days. Like the effect of alcohol, you should not drive or make important decisions under the influence of prescription pain medications. You may take an anti-inflammatory medication (NSAID) along with your pain medication to help with inflammation. Your surgeon will discuss the specifics of the plan for your pain control.
  • If you have a drain, please make sure to document your fluid output. Bring your drain record sheet to the office for your follow up appointment. Call the office when it is below 20-30 ml in a 24-hour period.

 

 

Please call the office right away if you have any of the following:

  • Pain is not adequately controlled with medication
  • Inability to urinate
  • Temperature over 101 degrees
  • Any other concerns for your specific operation. Your surgeon will discuss warning signs for your operation.

 

 

EDUCATIONAL DOCUMENTS

PARATHROIDECTOMY EDUCATION

THYROIDECTOMY EDUCATION

ROBOTIC INGUINAL HERNIA EDUCATION

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS