Recovery at home after surgery
Recovery at home after surgery
Congratulations if you have already been discharged from hospital! This article is designed to let you know a bit more about recovery at home. The first point to make is to remember that recovery is not always smooth, so you should expect days where things go well, and others where it does not.
Getting back to “normal” is a different experience for everyone. It is a good idea to eat well, drink well and exercise (breathing exercises, daily walking) to ensure your lungs remain fully expanded. It is wise to ensure you continue to lead a healthy lifestyle (stopping smoking, drinking alcohol in moderation) as your return to normal function. Often it will be a matter of progressing slowly and determining when you are able to return to your hobbies, sports and sex life.
Pain
You should have been discharged with pain medication to help you recover after the operation, and you should take it regularly (or as prescribed) even though you do not have any pain (it is usually the pain medication that ensures you are pain free). After a week or two, you should receive advice from your clinical team about how and when to reduce your pain medication. In general, you should reduce your pain medications gradually as instructed by your clinical team, and ensure you are sufficiently pain free to cough comfortably and do not run out of pain medication.
Pain medications can cause constipation and if you are on laxatives for that, you may find you have loose bowel motion – if so, simply reduce the laxatives. If you have troublesome diarrhoea, you should stop the laxatives and consult with your clinical team.
Wound care
You will be advised to keep your wound clean and dry. If you are discharged with a dressing over your wound, you need to ensure you know when to take it off, and once so, you can wash your wound with soap and water when you bathe normally. It’s not advisable to soak for long periods in the first week after surgery.
You may have stitches from a drain site that will need removing (usually around 7 to 10 days after your operation). Ensure that you have made an appointment with your local doctor or nurse to remove the stitches at the prescribed time.
If your wound looks red, swollen or has a discharge do let your clinical team know. If possible, take a picture of wound to show your clinical team.
Returning to work
When the correct time to go back to work is different for each person. People with sedentary jobs tend to be able to return to work faster than those who are undertaking jobs where for example lifting is involved. Be sure to discuss with your clinical team and/or family doctor when the correct time might be for you to return to work.
Complications
Although uncommon, complications do occur after surgery and if you are re-admitted to a different hospital, be sure to let you clinical teams know.
Track your symptoms
Don’t forget to track your symptoms daily (or more) in the first few weeks and months after your operation so you can report back to your healthcare professionals on your recovery. A detailed documentation of your symptoms will help us plan the correct recommendations for your care.
September 2022
Professor Lim discloses personal fees from Abbott Molecular, Glaxo Smith Kline, Pfizer, Norvatis, Medtronic / Covidien, Roche, BMS, Beigene, Amgen, grants from ScreenCell, Clearbridge Biomedics, Illumina, Guardant Health, Bayer, Takeda Oncology, and personal fees and grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Medela, Lilly Oncology, Johnson and Johnson / Ethicon, AstraZeneca.