Please note: These are general guidelines and may not be applicable to every
patient. Always follow your doctor’s specific instructions for care after
surgery.
Drain care
You may be discharged from
the hospital with an external drainage device in place. The drain will
continuously remove fluid from a catheter at the surgery site into an external
collection device. You will be responsible for emptying this collection device.
Your health care provider will discuss how to care for your drain before you are
discharged from the hospital.
The amount of fluid that is drained over a 24-hour period will gradually
decrease. The color of the fluid may also change from a cherry-red to a
yellow-red and then to a straw-colored fluid. Usually the drainage system is
removed within one week after surgery.
Incision care
Small pieces of tape
(called steri-strips) will remain over the incision site and may be removed from
10 to 14 days after surgery. The incision should be kept clean and dry for one
week after surgery. Therefore, we recommend sponge baths instead of showers. You
may bathe in a bathtub if you are able to keep the area dry. Look for
redness and swelling, which may be signs of infection.
Do not go swimming until you have discussed this with your physician at your
follow-up appointment.
Changing your surgical dressing
You
will be wearing a special bra (surgi-bra) which holds dressings in place after
the surgery. Your doctor will tell you when you are able to stop wearing the
bra. You should change the dressings once a day. Your health care provider will
show you how to change the dressing, but here are the steps as a reminder:
- Open the surgi-bra and remove the old dressings.
- Open the new dressing package and select the gauze with the slit, placing
the slit around the drainage tube (where it comes out of your body). Take
the other gauze and place it over the incision. Do not use tape. Close the
surgi-bra. It is helpful to have someone help you change the dressing as you
lay in bed.
Note: when you go home from the hospital, a nurse will give you the
appropriate supplies you will need to change the dressing.
Pain relief
You will be given a
prescription for pain relief after the procedure. You may instead take Extra
Strength Tylenol if that provides sufficient relief. Do not take aspirin or
products containing aspirin for the first three days after the procedure.