Activity

• Ask your friends and family to help with chores and errands while you recover.

• Walk on a regular basis. Start with short walks each day. Gradually increase the distance you walk and how often you walk. Activity helps prevent blood clots.

• Don’t lift anything heavier than 10 pounds or do strenuous activity for the first 6 weeks after your surgery.

• Don’t drive for 2 weeks after surgery or as directed by your health care provider. Don’t drive while you are taking prescription pain medicine.

• Ask your provider when you can expect to return to work. Most people are able to return to work within 4 to 6 weeks after surgery.

• Your provider may give you a device to improve your breathing or lung function (incentive spirometer). Carefully follow all of the instructions.

Other home care

• Diarrhea or loose stools are common after surgery, and can last weeks to months. Call your surgeon if you have watery, or bloody diarrhea. This may be a sign of a bowel infection or other problem.

• Prevent straining with bowel movements.

• Follow the diet prescribed for you in the hospital. Slowly add foods until you get back to your regular diet. If a certain type of food gives you stomach or bowel problems, stay away from it for a while.

• At first you may be on a low-fiber diet. This is recommended to reduce the amount and frequency of your stools. This helps reduce trauma at the site of the surgery. After some time, gradually adding fiber can help with diarrhea. If diarrhea is severe, your health care provider may prescribe medicine.

• You may use pain medicine as directed by your provider. Discuss your best choice before leaving the hospital and at your post-op visit.

• Use nutritional supplements or shakes as directed by your provider.

• Drink at least 8 glasses of water every day, unless directed otherwise. It's very important to prevent dehydration, especially if you have a bag that collects stool (ostomy) or diarrhea. 

• Take your medicines exactly as directed. Don’t skip doses.

• Shower or bathe as directed by your provider. Gently wash your incision with soap and water and pat dry.

• Don't take baths until the stitches, staples, or sticky strips in your incision have been removed, and your provider says it's OK. If a surgical glue was applied to your incision, allow the glue to flake off on its own.

• If you have an ostomy, you likely will have met with an ostomy nurse in the hospital. You may have more questions once you get home. Contact the ostomy nurse or your surgeon.

• Numbness, itching, or tingling can be common as the wound heals.

• Wear soft, loose clothing. Clothes that are rough or tight may rub against your incision and delay healing.

Follow-up care

Make a follow-up appointment as advised.

When to contact your doctor

Contact your health care provider right away if you have:

• A fever of 100.4°F ( 38°C) or higher, or as directed by your provider.

• Chills.

• Diarrhea that lasts more than 3 days.

• Nausea and vomiting that won’t go away.

• Belly pain that gets worse or isn’t relieved by pain medicine.

• Belly swelling or pain that gets worse or won’t go away.

• Foul-smelling drainage or redness around your incision.

• Bright red or dark black stools.

• No bowel movements or passing gas for 2 to 3 days after operation.

Call 911

Call 911 if you have:

• A lot of bleeding.