After surgery
“You are the most important person in your own recovery!”
All ERAS specialties
Following your surgery please start working with your ERAS information pack. The Enhanced Recovery booklet and goal chart are particularly useful to enable you to guide your own progress as well as to prompt you. Please start working with your goal chart as soon as you return to the ward – please ask a member of staff to help get this out of your bag.
The surgery is done……. Some key things to remember!
- Walking is really important! Walking helps to reduce the risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), chest infections, helps your bowel to start working and generally makes you feel better / more like yourself.
- Get dressed into your normal everyday clothing from the day after your surgery. This is shown to help motivate and improve overall wellbeing – End PJ Paralysis. Remember to bring a set of clothes into hospital with you…We like to avoid hospital gowns where possible.
- Eat well to help your recovery! – a well-balanced diet is very important to help your body to repair after surgery. Foods containing protein are particularly good in helping with wound healing/repair.
- Pain delays the healing process!
We do what we can to ensure your pain is well managed after your surgery. If you are unable to do things such as cough, deep breathe and walk because of pain issues you will be at higher risk of developing post-operative complications e.g. DVT, chest infection, sluggish bowel amongst other things.
Please let someone know if your pain is preventing you from doing any of the things mentioned above… there is always additional pain relief you can have, please ask your nurse for this.