What to expect after surgery

When you wake up after the operation, you will be in a recovery room near the operating theatre. Once you are fully conscious, you will be transferred to the ward.

Learn more about:

• Tubes and drips
• Length of stay
• Pain
• Wound care
• Blood clot prevention
• Constipation
• Test results

Tubes and drips 

You will have an intravenous drip in your arm to give you medicines and fluid, and a tube in your bladder (catheter) to collect urine (wee). These will usually be removed the day after the operation.

Length of stay 

You will stay in hospital for about 1–4 days. How long you stay will depend on the type of surgery you have had and how quickly you recover. Most people who have laparoscopic surgery will be able to go home on the first or second day after the surgery (and occasionally on the day of surgery).

Pain 

As with all major surgery, you will have some discomfort or pain. The level of pain will depend on the type of operation. After keyhole surgery, you will usually be given pain-relieving tablets. If you have open surgery, you may be given pain medicine in different ways:

• through a drip (intravenously)
• via a local anaesthetic injection into the abdomen (a transverse abdominis plane or TAP block)
• via a local anaesthetic injection into your back, either into spinal fluid (a spinal) or into the space around spinal nerves (an epidural)
• with a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) system, a machine that allows you to press a button for a measured dose of pain relief.

While you are in hospital, let your doctor or nurse know if you are in pain so they can adjust your medicines to make you as comfortable as possible. Do not wait until the pain is severe. After you go home, you can continue taking pain-relieving tablets as needed.

Wound care 

You can expect some light vaginal bleeding after the surgery, which should stop within two weeks. Your treatment team will talk to you about how you can keep the wound/s clean to prevent infection once you go home.

Blood clot prevention 

You will be given a daily injection of a blood thinner to reduce the risk of blood clots. Depending on your risk of clotting, you may be taught to give this injection to yourself so you can continue it for a few weeks at home. You may also be advised to wear compression stockings for up to four weeks to help the blood in your legs to circulate well and avoid clots.

Constipation 

The medicines used during and after surgery can cause constipation (difficulty having bowel movements). Talk to your treatment team about how to manage this – they may suggest medicines to help prevent or relieve constipation. Once your surgeon says you can get out of bed, walking around can also help.

Test results 

Your doctor will have all the test results about a week after the operation. Whether additional treatment is necessary will depend on the type, stage and grade of the disease, and the amount of any remaining cancer. If the cancer is at a very early stage, you may not need further treatment.

I had a total hysterectomy and some of my lymph nodes were removed as well. Fortunately, the cancer hadn’t spread, but because it was grade 3 the doctor recommended I have chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

— Julie