Post-operative care essentials

Post-Operative care refers to treatment, support, education and rehabilitation given after an operation has taken place to promote a smooth and optimal recovery.

We’ve included the most common post-operative care instructions, so if you have any specific questions about your surgery, please reach out to your healthcare team for tailored advice.

Here are some general tips on the care you should receive when you leave the hospital.

Physically

• Build up your mobility, do something each day in line with the advice from your clinical team. The physiotherapist at the hospital should have given you suitable exercises to practise. It’s natural to want to do more but try to take it easy.
• Monitor wound sites – look out for redness, leaking fluids, bleeding, swelling, or if a wound or the surrounding skin is warm to touch. Reach out to your healthcare team if any of these occur.
• Keep an eye on how you’re feeling. If you develop a temperature or an increase in pain then reach out to your healthcare team or your GP for advice.
• Avoid heavy lifting or over exerting, and continue to avoid it even when you think you can do it. Ask others to help you in this delicate and important period.
• Take the medication you have been given as prescribed (ensuring the right dose at the right time). You’ll find instructions on the labels, but you can ask the nurse to go through it with you and a family member to help you remember the information.
• Keep eating, try to take little and often if it feels like a struggle. You can ask to see the dietician at the hospital for some advice before you leave the hospital if you are worried.
• Stay hydrated, drink 6-8 glasses of fluid each day unless instructed otherwise by your healthcare team.
• If asked to wear anti-embolism stockings, (the ones that help prevent blood clots, people wear them on planes!) remember they’re often tight and hard to get on so you will need someone to help you.
• Constipation can occur if taking strong painkillers or if you are not moving around so be sure to keep an eye on your bowels, as you may need some gentle laxatives to help.

Mentally

• Rest, rest and rest.
• Accept help and explain your needs to friends, family and carers. You will recover more quickly if you take time for your body to heal.
• If anything comes to mind that you are unsure about, write it down, look it up on Pal and, or reach out to your healthcare team – don't forget they are there to help you.
• Try to sleep well overnight, and a nap during the day is both good and normal after surgery.
• Spread your visitors out, it will be lovely to see them all, but it can be tiring.

Other

• Have a family member or friend with you when leaving the hospital so you don’t need to worry about remembering everything yourself.
• Depending on your home set up, a bed downstairs may be needed for a little while to avoid walking up the stairs – the hospital team can help advise on this one.
• Pop your follow up appointment details in the calendar.
• Driving is typically prohibited for around 6 weeks - or until you're safely able to perform an emergency stop, so bear that in mind for the post-op. Ask your GP for advice on this if you are unsure.
• If taking time off from work for the surgery, then ask the hospital team for a note for your employer. This should be given to you before you leave the hospital. If it is forgotten or an extension is needed then your GP can do this for you.