POST OPERATIVE ADVISE

The day of the surgery

It is important to sit up and walk around as soon as possible.
If discharge is planned on the same day, this will only be possible if you start walking early, including a trip to the bathroom to pass urine.

Home After Surgery

In the car, recline the seat and place a pillow against your stomach to absorb the shock of bumps in the road.

Once at home, lie down and sleep as much as possible for the first 24 hours. Your abdominal muscles will be very tender the first few days.

Hold a pillow against your stomach if you sneeze or cough to lessen the pain. Your abdomen will be tender for about a week and some bruising is normal.

Your shoulders will also hurt the first few days. Recline in your armchair and place a heating pad on your shoulders. When you feel better, walk a little around the house.

To get out of bed, roll onto your side, slip your feet out of bed, sit up using your arms for support and then stand up.

If you feel nauseous, try the following: rub a pad moistened with rubbing alcohol under your nose, lie down, breathe through the mouth, suck on a mint candy, eat dry crackers or drink ginger ale.

Eat lightly, beginning with liquids and slowly moving up to solid food. Eat foods high in fibre such as pears, prunes, asparagus, carrots and whole-wheat bread to prevent constipation. The anaesthesia and analgesics can cause severe constipation after surgery.

Make sure to drink at least 1.5 to 2 litres of water per day not only to prevent constipation but also to help eliminate traces of the anaesthesia.

After the laparoscopy, avoid wearing tampons and having sexual relations until the bleeding stops or until the time your doctor says it is alright to.

You may shower 24 hours after the surgery but don't take baths for a week, which would be difficult anyway since you would have trouble getting out of the bath.

A few days after the procedure, you can apply vitamin E to the incision if the scar looks normal and there are no signs of infection. Vitamin E promotes healing.

It usually takes about a week to recover from a laparoscopy, a common and minimally invasive procedure. If, however, you develop a fever, have difficulty urinating or experience heavy bleeding, develop nausea/vomiting or increasing abdominal pain contact your doctor immediately or go to the hospital.

When you return to work, wear loose clothing and avoid wearing nylon pantyhose, which will irritate your navel.

The secret to a speedy recovery is to take the necessary time and means to regain your energy.