The care of your surgical site is important to the success of your recovery. There are several things that could happen following surgery.
Bleeding: to reduce the possibility of bleeding, limit activities for at least 24 hours
- If surgery was on an arm or leg, keep it elevated.
- If surgery was on the face, head, or neck: avoid stooping or bending, or straining to have a bowel movement. Sleep with your head and shoulders elevated on extra pillows.
Should bleeding occur, apply firm constant pressure to the wound using a towel for 15 minutes. After doing this, if the wound continues to bleed, continue applying constant pressure for another 15 minutes. If, after this, the bleeding has not stopped, contact your doctor.
Pain: Post-operative pain is generally slight. Extra Strength Tylenol is recommended.
Infection: Signs of infection are increased pain, swelling, redness, yellowish drainage. Notify the doctor if these appear.
FOR ONE MONTH AVOID ANY ACTIVITIES WHICH MAY STRETCH YOUR WOUND.
There will be a scar and redness after surgery. This will decrease as healing progresses, but redness may last as long as six to eighteen months. Everyone heals differently and sometimes the final scar can hardly be seen, while others become thick and tender.
Do not smoke. Smoking cigarettes delay wound healing. You should not smoke during the month following your surgery.
WOUND CARE
The dressing that has been applied today should stay on wound for the next 48 hours unless otherwise directed. You will need to keep the area dry during this time. After removing the dressing, you may get the wound wet in the shower or bath. To cleanse the wound:
Twice a day:
- Wash your hands with soapy water.
- Make a solution of one tablespoon of white vinegar and one cup of water.
- Soak a clean washcloth or gauze in the mixture and dab on top of your wound to cleanse.
- Apply a small amount of Stratamed gel or Vaseline after cleansing until sutures are removed.
Steri-strips or “butterfly type”, should be applied across your wound to help keep the edges of the wound together. Steri-strips will fall off themselves and then should be re-applied once this happens.