Colon Surgery Rapid Recovery Program

Transcription

1 Colon Surgery Rapid Recovery Program at Toronto Western Hospital Colon Esophagus Liver Stomach Colon Small Intestine Please visit the UHN Patient Education website for more health information: University Health Network. All rights reserved. This information is to be used for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult your health care provider for advice about a specific medical condition. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for non-commercial personal use only. Author: Combined Surgical Unit (Revised by: Bruna Curti, Fe Cornista and Sherele McGhie) Reviewed: 07/2016 Form: D-3371

2 About your colon surgery Your doctor will perform colon surgery to repair your bowels. The plan is to have you go home 4 days after your surgery. The day before your surgery Have a light breakfast. You may drink clear liquids, and any of the nutritional supplements listed below. Boost Resource Standard Carnation Instant Breakfast (the Ready-To-Drink only) For lunch and supper, have clear liquids only. What are clear liquids? Soft drinks (such as orange, ginger-ale, Sprite, 7-UP and cola) Strained fruit juices without pulp (such as apple, orange, white grape and lemonade) Water, tea and coffee (no milk or creamers) Low salt chicken or beef broths You can also have hard candies, Jell-O and popsicles. 2

3 On the day of surgery Do NOT eat after midnight or drink for 5 hours before your surgery begins. Take your medications with sips of water. Your doctor or nurse will tell you what medications to take. After your surgery Food and drink After your surgery, you will sit in a chair for all your meals. We will give you clear liquids such as broth and juices. The day after surgery you will be able to eat regular food. You may prefer to eat small portions. Chew your food well and eat slowly. Drink plenty of fluids. This will help to keep your bowel movements soft. You may also ask your family to bring you food that you like to eat. What activities are safe? Exercises after surgery Your nurse will give you a list of exercises. Practice these before your surgery. Keep doing them after your surgery until you are up and moving. The physiotherapist or nurse will help you out of bed 2 to 3 hours after your surgery. Walking helps your blood flow, bowels and breathing get back to normal. Each day after your surgery we will help you to walk around the unit. We will encourage you to walk around the unit at least two times in the morning, afternoon and evening each day. Your family members and friends can help you while you are in the hospital and also when you get home. You will feel some discomfort when you cough or sneeze. Hold a pillow against your stomach will help. Do not lift anything heavier than 10 pounds for 6 weeks. Keep walking when you go home. You can have sex again when you feel well enough. 3

4 Showering You may shower 2 days after your surgery. Pat your incisions (cuts) dry after showering. You may take a bath after 1 week. Wound care A dressing or small Band-Aids with steri-strips will be placed over your incisions. The nurse will change your dressing before you go home. Keep the incisions clean and dry. The steri-strips will fall off in about 5 days. Check your incisions daily for signs of infection such as redness, swelling or drainage of pus. The nurse will remove your staples or sutures when you return to see the doctor. Managing your pain It is important to be as comfortable as possible after your surgery. To help with that, a small epidural catheter (tube) will be placed in your upper back to give you pain medication. Your nurse will tell you more about this medication. After the catheter is removed, we will give you other medications to control your pain. Your doctor will give you a prescription for pain medication before you go home. Take this medication before the pain gets bad. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables while taking this medication to keep your bowel movements soft. Do not drink alcohol or drive while taking these medications because they may make you sleepy. Take your usual medications again once you get home. 4

5 Call your doctor or go to the nearest emergency room if any of the following symptoms happen: You have chills and a fever higher than 38 C or 100 F There is redness, swelling and/or pus at the incision site You have a lot of pain or tenderness that lasts longer than 2 hours and doesn t go away after you take pain medication You have nausea and vomiting or you lose your appetite You are not able to have a bowel movement (poo) for 3 days Follow-up visit after surgery Please call your surgeon s office to make a follow-up appointment. Please bring your health card (OHIP) with you to all your hospital visits. Doctor: Phone: Date: Location: Notes: 5