Home after op but worried

Hi Tracker According to my leaflet it is not uncommon for there to be a small amount of blood oozing from the wound in the first 24 hours following the procedure. You may also have some redness or bruising around the wound site, for a few days. It also says contact the hospital if you feel increased pain or increased redness or swelling around your wound. If there is excessive discharge or bleeding from your wound and any green or green pus in the wound.

It is early days and you must rest and do not lift anything. It could take 4 weeks before you truly feel comfortable and up to 3 months before feeling the full benefit. Remember that they have taken your gallbladder out through your bell button. It needs time to heal.

If you feel the blood is eccessive then contact the hospital or your GP for advice.

Don't sit worrying about it. Better to ask if what is happening is normal. I stayed overnight at the hospital and was only aware of some dried blood on the belly button when I changed the dressing. Everyone is different so please ask someone about it. I wish you a good recovery.

Hi Tracker.

As Gemini says, it is important not to lift anything (not that you'll feel like it for a while).

Do not convince yourself that it is a minor op just because you were in and out of hospital the same day and it was keyhole.

You have still had an organ removed and that is a trauma to your body. So relax and give yourself time to heal.

Call your doc if you are really worried.

Abdo surgery is lousy. I know!

Lelly xx

Hmm this doesnt sound right, you should get this looked at,, see your GP

if the bleeding from the site seems exessive see your dr to get it checked out!!

you can expect a bit of discomfort moving about, at the stage you are at - they have removed an organ and blown you up to full capasity with gas... just because you had a lap day case surgery does not mean you feel less pain!!

i hope you feel better soon - while the proceedure may be uncomfortable - to painfull, it is better than a lifetime of gallbladder pain.

all the best.

vix

Tracker,If you haven't already done so,I would suggest you go and see your GP. I got my op on Tues afternoon,got discharged on Wed and on Friday morning I noticed that the wound in my navel was leaking I got an emergency appt at the surgery and Dr examined it and gave me an antibiotic and sent me to the nurses station to get it re-dressed She said the wound had been glued and a bit had come undone so she put in a paper stitch and gave me some large dressing to change and I was to come back on Tuesday Went back and saw another nurse who yanked the paper stitch off Ouch,and then proceeded to clean out the wound Ouch OuchShe then put an iodine dressing on,gave me a supply of them and bigger dressings,and sent me on my way.For a week or so I used the iodine dressings,until I felt I should let it heal naturally and just used the large ones A scab did form over the next week but I was too squeamish to pick at it so just showered every day with the dressing removed until it gradually fell off Now I am left with a rather lopsided looking scar which will fade.If your wound is still causing you bother please go and get it attended to,you can't leave it like that as you may be prone to infection,and if I were you,I would ask for an antibiotic to be on the safe side. Hope you feel better soon,

Jean

Well said plain jane.

It always amazes me that hospitals dont prescibe anti-biotics after surgery. I know we are supposed to cut down on the use but with all the nasty little bug(ger)s out there it makes sense to me. Hubby got a serious wound infection after ear surgery and it was very unpleasant so go to the doc and see. If it is an infection it is easily sorted.

Lelly xx

traker, i hope you have managed to get seen at the surgery.. i had problems with healing and wound breakdown following my surgery. i was visiting the practice nurse 3 times weekly and she was brilliant - when things were going well and the wound appeared to be getting better she would just clean and redress it, and when she was not happy with the progress she would call in the next available dr between patients to come and see it and decide if more antibiotics were necessary... my surgery were brillient (even the scary dragons at the reception desk began to be nicer too my after several weeks).

hope you are feeling better soon

vix

Thanks for all the replies :D I made it through that first night ok in the end, i think it was more me panicking than anything else :oops:

Its now 3 days post op and externally the wounds are healing and doing fine, the one by my bellybutton is a little bit sore, and one of the wounds by my ribs catches me every now and then when i breath deeply but other than that externally i'm doing fine.

Internally is another matter, to think i was worrying about being constipated cos of the painkillers, how wrong could i be!! As a guestimate I have been on the toilet about 30 times in the last 24hrs :shock: From what i've been reading it could take a month or so to settle, I'm eating a low fat diet so i'll stick with that, but if nothing improves does anyone have a suggestion for meds to 'bung me up' a bit???

All in all though apart from my insides being a bit disgruntled recovery is going well, and i'm looking forward to getting back to normal over time :D

hi tracker! glad you are feeling better about things - yeah it may be a bit uncomfortable for a while - while your wounds are small they are only the tip of the iceberg, a lot more has gone on underneath!!!

take it easy - and if you have any worries - get checked out.

all the best for your recovery.

vix