Post Operative Instructions - General Information

Prevention of Surgical Site Infection

• It is very important that you wash your hands before changing your dressings or touching your surgical site.
• Touch surgical site or area around incision as little as possible.
• Keep everything that comes in contact with the area as clean as possible.
• No soaking of wound in water (including Jacuzzi) until sutures or staples are out and wound is completely healed.  May shower after 72 hours.
• Refer to your discharge instructions regarding how often to change the dressing.
• If prescribed antibiotics, take until finished.
• Watch for signs of infection: 
  • Increased redness or swelling
  • Increased pain
  • Purulent (thick yellowish drainage) drainage from the incision
  • Fever
  • Red streaks from incision

• For any of the above symptoms, contact your physician right away!

If you have any questions regarding your discharge instructions please contact your physician.

Nutrition Considerations for Surgery
Pam Mason, RD
924-4214

Surgery and wound healing increase your body’s calorie and protein needs. It is important that you have a diet rich in calories and protein to support adequate healing. Your body also has special vitamin and mineral needs in order to rebuilding of tissue during wound healing. With a well balanced diet, a healthy person is generally able to meet the bodies extra demands to support good healing following surgery. The following are nutrition guidelines to assist you in a healthy recovery following surgery.

Nutrition Before Surgery
Healthy eating to support healing after surgery starts before you even have your surgery. There will be a period of time that your diet will be restricted before and after surgery. Before surgery you will be required to fast from foods and beverages for a few hours. After surgery, it is very common for your appetite to be poor due to pain, nausea or constipation. By having a good diet before surgery you are able to support your body’s needs during the time your diet is restricted.

During surgery there will be some amount of blood loss. Your body needs iron to support the regeneration of some components in your blood. If you have problems with low iron levels make sure you inform your doctor.

Nutrition During Recovery
To support proper wound healing your body needs adequate intake of calories, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, and zinc. Most people do not need to take a supplement to meet your body’s needs for surgical wound healing. Eating a well balanced diet will provide adequate amounts or these nutrients. Refer to the tables below to find good sources of these foods in your diet. If you have restriction on your diet that prevents you from including these foods in your diet, have had unintentional weight loss, if you have severe burn or bed sore, or if you have chronic or poorly healing wounds you may need supplementation. Speak with your doctor or registered dietitian if you are concerned you may need a supplement.

Even when a person has good iron levels before surgery, it is common that the iron levels drop as a response to surgery. Good iron intake will help to ensure proper reproduction of the components of your blood that require iron. Consuming vitamin C rich foods with iron rich foods helps increase your iron absorption from both the animal and plant-based foods. Some people require iron supplementation in addition to what they eat. Iron is a substance that can be toxic if you take too much, so let your doctor make the decision if you need an iron supplement.

Iron rich foods	Vitamin A rich foods	Vitamin C rich Foods	Zinc Rich Foods
Beef Poultry Pork Baked potato with skin Chickpeas Kidney Beans Peas Apricots Egg Whole Grain Bread Tamarind Iron-Fortified cereals	Sweet Potatoes Grape Fruit Cantaloupe Carrots Mango Peaches Papaya Collard Greens Kale Spinach Fish Dairy products	Oranges Cantaloupe Honeydew melon Strawberries Papaya Broccoli Bell Peppers Baked Potato Tomato Cauliflower	Meat Pork Seafood Dark poultry Dairy Products Beans

Herbs & Supplements
What you should know before surgery

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) has issued a warning that certain herbs or supplements could pose a danger if taken prior to surgery.  Some herbs have independent effects and some have synergistic (interacts with or enhances) effects with medications used during and after the surgery. The anesthesiologists are now recommending that patients stop taking any herbs or dietary supplements 2 or 3 weeks before undergoing elective surgery.  This allows your system to clear itself of the herb or supplement. The ASA has identified the following herbs and supplements as having potential adverse interactions with surgical medications:

  St. John’s Wort
  Ginkgo biloba
  Feverfew
  Genseng
  High doses of garlic, Vitamin E
  Ephedra (found in many weight loss supplements)
  Kava
  Valerian

If you are taking any of these supplements, be sure to notify your surgeon when you discuss scheduling surgery.  He/she will give you definitive instructions regarding when and if to temporarily stop them.

CONSTIPATION
(How to Avoid It!)

After surgery, medications and immobility can cause constipation.  Here are some helpful tips to assist in preventing this common problem.

• Drink 6-8 glasses of water daily.
• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
• Be aware of your bowel pattern.  If you notice changes, then take action! If you miss 2 or 3 or your usual bowel movements, or you begin to feel uncomfortable, you may need a gentle oral laxative or stool softener.
• Eat light meals 2 days prior to your surgery.
• Do not take laxatives the day before or the day or your surgery.
• Enemas are not given prior to surgery, so you will be much more comfortable if your bowels are regulated prior to surgery.

After surgery, most people do not move their bowels for 2 or 3 days. This is normal, as anesthesia and other medications slow down bowel activity.  Most people have decreased oral intake and decreased activity the first few days after the surgery. These factors also result in decreased bowel activity.

Bowel patterns return to normal after surgery when physical activity increases, appetite returns to normal, and you are able to stop taking pain medicines.

If your bowels have not moved or you feel uncomfortable 3 days after surgery, or if you have any other questions or concerns, please call your physician's office.