Recovery From Surgery Part One

You are scheduled to have surgery soon. The time to start your recovery is before you even have surgery. You have so many things on your mind that you need to do before the big day gets here. Let me help you get ready with this list of things to prepare for after surgery. 

Begin planning for recovery before the day of your surgery

Plan for the length of your recovery  

Your surgeon will tell you if you will be going home on the day of your surgery or if you will be admitted to the hospital at your pre-op appointment. If you will be admitted to the hospital, your surgeon should be able to tell you how many days to plan on being hospitalized.

If you will be going home after your surgery, be sure to have someone available to stay with you according to your surgeon’s instructions.

Add a little wiggle room in your recovery schedule just in case you require more time than is anticipated. It is surprising how much even minor surgery can zap your strength.

Recliner, lift chair, mechanical bed, hospital bed

Depending on what kind of surgery you have done, you may need assistance getting into and out of a chair or bed. Getting into bed may be too difficult or painful. If this is the case, make alternative sleeping arrangements before your surgery if possible.

Keep in mind any limitations you will have. For instance, if you plan to sleep in a recliner chair, will you be able to put the footrest up by yourself, or will you need someone to do that for you. Do you have comfortable pillows on hand if you don’t have a recliner chair and will be sleeping on the couch?

Perhaps a lift chair would be helpful, especially if you have balance problems. With a lift chair, the chair mechanically lifts and tilts the seat forward. This takes the strain off your abdominal muscles and back when you stand. If you have balance problems, the chair can raise you while you steady yourself with your walker. When you sit down again, the process reverses, slowly lowering you back into a seated position.

A mechanical bed is like a hospital bed. With the push of a button, you raise and lower your head and feet. This helps take the strain off your back and abdominal muscles.

If your recovery from surgery will be prolonged, or you must lie in bed for long periods, you may want to consider a hospital bed. This comes in handy if you will need someone to care for you. A hospital bed is different from a mechanical bed because the whole bed can be raised to your caregiver’s working height which will put less strain on their back while they are tending to you. Remember to always lower the bed back down when your caregiver is finished tending to you for safety purposes. (Yes, I am a nurse. Can you tell?)

Check with your insurance company about renting equipment instead of purchasing it if you will only need to use them for a relatively short time.

House modifications:

You may want to consider doing some alterations to your house before surgery depending on what kind of surgery you are having,

Of course, not every surgery is the same. If you are having a minor surgery, like having a small area of skin cancer removed, you will not need to make any changes at all.

But if you are having a more aggressive surgery, such as having a limb amputated, then you may need to make some changes.

Some home modifications that you may want to consider include:

Install grab bars in the bathroom.

Build a ramp to get into your house if you have steps to climb and will need to be in a wheelchair.

If you have stairs in your house, a stair chair lift may be needed to help you go to the upper level.

Move or remove scatter or throw rugs if you will be using a walker or wheelchair.

Relocate things from high or low shelves to a more accessible location for your recuperation period.

Install a hand-held shower head. This is especially handy if you will need someone to help you shower.

Equipment

Some common ambulatory assist items include a walker, cane, knee scooter, or crutches.

You may need bathroom assist devices like a raised toilet seat or use a walker instead of grab bars to help get on and off the toilet, if you have surgery anywhere from your chest down to your feet. Or you might need a bedside commode.

A long grabber to pick things up off the floor is handy. Just be sure to put it where it won’t fall onto the floor when you’re not using it.

Caregiver

The type of caregiver you will need depends on where you will be discharged and in what state you will be in.

If you have a minor outpatient surgery using only a local anesthetic, you should not need much care or assistance.

For a minor outpatient surgery or procedure using sedation, you will need a caregiver immediately post-op and up to twenty-four hours after your surgery.

For any kind of surgery you have done under anesthesia, you will need a caregiver for at least twenty-four hours and maybe longer if you go home the same day of your surgery.

If you are a patient in the hospital, and your surgery is done under either sedation or anesthesia, the hospital staff will be your caregivers and you will not need to provide your own. Family members are sometimes encouraged to stay with the patient if the patient is confused. This helps the patient to have someone familiar with them in a place they don’t understand.

Coverage for work/your own business

If you own your own business, do you have someone who can run your business while you are out?

Do you have a managerial position that you will need to train someone for in your absence?

Do you need to get someone to cover your shifts for you at work while you are on leave?

Get ahead on chores, bills, schoolwork, etc.

Try to get as much day-to-day household business out of the way before you go in for surgery. You may not be up to doing these tasks for a while after your operation.

If you can pay your bills in advance, this is advisable. If you will need to take narcotic pain medication after your operation, you may not think clearly and it would be easy to make a banking error.

Being a student is hard enough. Having the added burden of surgery makes schoolwork that much tougher. Try to get ahead on as many lessons and writing papers as possible.

Childcare and pet care

Will your children be cared for at your home or will you need them to stay with relatives while you recuperate?  

The same for your pets. Will you have someone come in and tend to them, or would it be easier for someone to take them until you are back on your feet?

Caregiver for someone you care for

If you are the caregiver for someone, you might need to train a replacement to care for that person until you can do so again. Or perhaps they may need a visiting health service to care for them in your absence.

Stop mail and delivery service

If you will be gone from home for an extended length of time, such as if you will be in the hospital or a rehab facility after your surgery, or if you must travel out of town for your care, consider stopping your mail service if you have no one to collect your mail for you. The same goes if you receive deliveries regularly.

Stock up on food, make meals and freeze them, etc.

You may not be up to cooking when you get home from surgery. Plan on this ahead of time by stocking your freezer with pre-made meals that you can reheat. If you have friends or family that can prepare meals for you after your surgery, even better.

After your surgery, you may need assistance

Depending on the extent of your surgery, you may need help for a while. Some things to consider getting help with include:

Chores and housework

Your post-op instructions may require that you limit physical exertion or don’t lift heavy or bulky objects. Therefore, you should make arrangements before your surgery to have your support team help you out while you are laid up.

Virtual voice-activated device

Technology can be your friend after your surgery. If you have a virtual voice-activated assistant, this device can help you with some things like turning on lights or turning off the TV. Should you fall, you can also ask your device to call for someone to assist you.

Transportation to appointments, etc.

Until you are cleared to drive, you will need someone to transport you to doctor appointments, take you to any therapy sessions you need to go to, and so on.

When going home from the hospital the same day you have surgery, you will need an adult to travel with you if you use a public or private ride-share service. These drivers are not medically trained if something should happen to you on the way home. Their job is to drive you, not be your caregiver.

If you travel by a medical transport service, they are trained in the event of an emergency and they do not always allow persons other than the patient to be transported.

If your friend or family member drives you home, then you are good to go without any other person needing to be with you.

Home healthcare: a family member or healthcare service provider?

Where will you be going after your surgery? Will you be discharged home to recuperate, or will you be going to a rehab facility? If you have a surgery that requires someone to assist you with healthcare needs, who will provide this care for you? Will it be a family member or perhaps a home health nurse and/or physical therapist?

Make sure you find out these answers before your surgery so you can plan for this care.

If your family member or friend will be your caregiver, will they need any training?

And if you will be having a professional service provide your care, are they covered on your insurance plan?

Meals

Ask your support team to help you if you need assistance with meals until you can prepare your own. Check with your cancer center to see if they have anyone who can help you if you don’t have a support team already.

Physical needs

It is amazing what we take for granted until a surgical procedure prevents us from doing even simple things. When I had my double mastectomy, I couldn’t pull my T-shirt off over my head. My husband had to do this for me. . (Read: The Day I Met Cancer in the Mirror)

If your surgery will cause you limited mobility, plan to have someone help you. Even with the embarrassing tasks.

Wound care

You may have surgical wounds that will need to be tended to. If you are in a care facility, your caregivers will change your dressings for you. If you go home after your surgery and you have dressings to change, either you or your home caregiver can change your dressings according to your surgeon’s instructions.

This has been Part One of How to Recover from Surgery.

In this article we have covered:

The time to begin your recovery from surgery is before you have surgery.

Allow for a little extra time in your recovery schedule.

Plan for where you will sleep immediately after you return home from surgery.

Make any house modifications you may need before your surgery.

Have ambulatory assist equipment available if you even think you might need something.

Decide who will be your caregiver after surgery. Arrange for training for them if they will need any.

Make arrangements for someone to cover your work obligations while you are out.

Get ahead on bills, housework, and school work.

Arrange for a caregiver to take your place if you are a caregiver to someone else.

Stop mail and delivery services if you will be away from home for an extended time.

Stock up on food for your return home.

Ask your support team to help with chores and transportation.

If you have a voice-activated assist device, program it ahead of time to turn on and off lights, etc.

Check with your insurance to see what home health service is covered on your plan if you will need one.

Have someone available to assist you with wound care if you will need this after surgery.

In Part Two, we will discuss wound care more in depth and some more things to help you recover from surgery.

Comment below how this article has better helped you prepare for surgery.

Wishing you all the best,

Kelly

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Yes, I am a nurse. No, I am not your nurse. The medical topics discussed in this, or any article on this site, are intended to be issues for you to discuss with your medical team if you feel they apply to you. None of the information you are about to read in this article is treatment advice for you from me. I do not have that authority.