Wound Care

You may remove the dressing and shower 24hr from your surgery day (if you have a drain in place follow the guidelines for drain care which were given to you at the time of discharge home). Leave the white 'steri-strips' on the skin for the first week to improve the cosmetic result. There is no need to cover the incisions or put antibiotic lotions on them. It is not unusual for the area around each incision to feel bruised. However if the incisions get red or begin to drain fluid more than 2 days after surgery please call us. Fever, shortness of breath should be called to our attention.

Diet

Start with liquid food and then advance as tolerated.

Return to Work

There is no mandatory length of time that one must stay out of work after surgery. Persons who have more physically demanding jobs should give themselves more time to heal prior to returning to work, (usually 10-14 days). Patients with more sedentary or light-duty type of work can return to work prior to their first post-operative evaluation if they desire. We are happy to sign "work-excuse" notices for patients at the first post-operative appointment. We advise our patients to ambulate as soon as possible even during their first post operative day.

Pain Control

Pain and some bruising is not unusual. The pain should steadily improve. Most of the pain is from swelling and bruising. As a result, anti-inflammatory medications like Advil/Motrin and Ibuprophen work very well. We encourage patients to take 1-2 of these tablets every 8 hrs with some food during the first 5 days after surgery. You will also be given a prescription for a mild narcotic that will help reduce any additional pain.

Symptoms To Look for after surgery

Please report any shortness of breath, difficulty in breathing, bleeding from the wound, numbness in your fingers or around your lips, or any spasm in your hands to our office. Some wound swelling or bruising is expected.

If you had parathyroid removal surgery please communicate with your endocrinologist's office continuously in order to adjust your medication dosage.