Discharge Instructions for Tubal Reversal Surgery at NCCRM
Risks:
- Problems with Anesthesia
- Infection of internal organs or incision
- Damage to internal organs, but on rare occasion
- Internal bleeding with vascular injury
Diet:
- Avoid caffeine and alcohol
- Start with liquids and advance to regular as tolerated.
Activity:
You can usually go home once you have recovered from the anesthesia and are alert. This typically takes 1 ½ to 2 hours. During this time, follow these guidelines:
- Very light activity for the next 20 hours.
- Moderate activity as tolerated for the next few days.
- Do not be left alone for the next 24 hours.
- Do not lift anything over 10 lbs for the next 2 weeks.
- Do not engage in intercourse for 1 week.
- In 2 weeks, schedule a post-op visit after which you may return to work.
- Can shower the next day, be sure to cover the incision with waterproof bandage (even saran wrap would work and keep your back to the shower head to ensure you don’t get the incision wet)
Medications:
*You are given a prescription for Dilaudid as well. Take 1-2 pills every 4 hours. If pain is not tolerated with Dilaudid alone, you may alternate the Dilaudid with 200 mg Advil. Instructions for this would be: Alternate Dilaudid and 2 Advil every two hours. (ex: Dilaudid at 10am, Advil at 12noon, Dilaudid at 2pm, Advil at 4pm, and so on.)
- If you have a prescription for 800mg Motrin, you would only take that every 8 hrs.
- Colace 100mg(over the counter) 1 by mouth twice/day while on pain meds or Milk of Magnesia(take this every 8 hrs until you have a bowel movement)
- Phenergan or Zofran prescription is given for nausea, take every 6hrs as needed.
- Z-Pack prescription is given to fight infection, take 2 on the first day and then 1 daily.
- Xanax 0.25mg prescription is given to help relax you, take 1 every 8 hrs as needed.
- Any other medications must be approved by physician.
Incision Care:
- Keep area clean and dry.
- You can remove the bandage the next day to clean the area. There are little strips under the bigger bandage. These stay on for a week. Replace the bigger bandage on the area for the first 3 days.
- Wear loose comfortable clothing to avoid irritating the incision.
Warning Signs (contact your physician if you experience the following):
- Heavy vaginal bleeding (greater than 1 pad/hour)
- Severe abdominal pain not controlled by Advil/RX given to you.
- Fever of 101 degrees or above.
- Persistent nausea and/or vomiting.
- Excessive thirst or sweating
- Failure to pass gas or urinate.
- Severe bloating and/or constipation.
- Drainage, bleeding, redness, or tenderness at the incision site.
Important things to know:
Please realize that you just had an open surgery, similar to a c-section where a woman would be hospitalized for 2-3 days.
For cost saving measures, the skin incision is small but the internal incision is wider and you may feel this as a bump on the sides of your incisions.
As soon as you have a positive pregnancy test, please follow up with your local OB for blood tests called “quantitative HCGs”. You should get this test every other day and these numbers should double with each test. Follow up with a OB ultrasound at 6 weeks from your last menstrual period to verify interuterine pregnancy. Please be sure to mention to your doctor that ectopic precautions should be taken following your tubal reversal.
Protection from Infection
At NCCRM, we are committed to your health and have these steps in place to help prevent you from getting a post surgical infection
The following steps should be taken to reduce chances of infection at your incision site:
- Do not shave or wax hair at the area where your incision will be at least 2 days before your scheduled surgery. Razors cause small cuts in your skin that can lead to infection.
- If your doctor wants any hair removed from the operative site, it will be removed at the hospital using clippers, not razors.
- Your healthcare providers should clean their hands with soap and water or an alcohol hand rub before examining you. If you do not see them clean their hands, please ask them to do so.
- To remove as many germs from your skin as possible, the skin at and around the area where the surgeon will make your incision will be cleaned with an antiseptic Chlorhexadine (CHG) disposable cloth. This will be done after you arrive at the hospital.
- Your doctor may order an IV antibiotic to be given to you before your incision is made. This is usually done once you arrive in the operating room.
- The doctors and nurses in the operating room will clean their hands and arms up to their elbows with an antiseptic solution just before your surgery and they will wear hair covers, masks, gowns and gloves during surgery.
- Before the surgery begins the skin around the operative site will be cleaned again using an antiseptic solution.
Printable Sheet: PROTECTION FROM INFECTION
For questions, please call 919-233-1680 ext. 180
