Post-surgery recovery begins with education

"It actually starts with the first visit to your surgeon," said Dr. Keith Vollstedt, a surgeon with Midlands Clinic. "It begins with educating the patient."

Too often, an individual is so relieved to be rid of pain and discomfort and so ready to leave the hospital and return home, that he/she doesn"t hear what the health care providers are saying about what to expect during the recuperation process, Vollstedt pointed out.

"We do our best to have patients, prior to surgery, learn about what limits should be placed on them, what physically they can expect," he said. "We encourage them to visit Web sites and especially talk to others who have had the surgery."

Forewarned is forearmed, Vollstedt said.

"We have numerous pamphlets on several types of surgery, treatment options and post-operative conditions. And people are pro-active in bringing in pages they"ve printed off the Internet on a health issue."

That can be both a blessing and a curse, Vollstedt said.

"Medical sites are good to visit because most have accurate information. Blogs can have some misinformation, but even that can be verified or discounted if it"s presented to us."

In his 17 years of practice, Vollstedt has seen a dramatic change in the post-surgery approach between doctors and patients.

"A hospital stay was longer after surgery, so conditions were monitored better," he recalled. "Then, it evolved to, perhaps following a same-day surgery, patients were sent home, left to their own devices with merely a set of instructions. Education prior to the surgery was clearly necessary so the patient would realize if things weren"t quite right."

One should expect some pain, certainly some discomfort, upon returning home, Vollstedt said.

"Most physicians will prescribe a narcotic to relieve pain," he said. "It"s interesting that many from our 'Greatest Generation" fear an addiction might result, but that is very rare."

Although some patients would prefer rest and relaxation, Vollstedt stressed it"s important to return to normal activity, at a reasonable pace.

"We want the patent walking around and doing breathing exercises," he said. "However, it"s important to realize that recovery is a slow process."

People will sometimes fret they are tired, they can"t seem to "get their motor going," Vollstedt said. That might be normal.

"No matter how simple or straightforward the surgery might be, you have to remember you are getting an anesthetic that is putting you to sleep and, more than that, relaxing the muscles of your body," he said. It"s going to take a while for that to wear off. You need to pace yourself."

Vollstedt sees a wide spectrum of time in the recovery process between a variety of folks.

"Our Greatest Generation may be more frail, but they seem to take surgery stronger mentally than younger folks," he said.

"Women are tougher than men," Vollstedt added. "That could be just having more interactions or being comfortable with the health care environment."

The strongest reason for the pre-surgery approach to post-surgery recovery is retention of information, Vollstedt stressed.

"Patients can "hear" details better. Concentration is better. Although pain might be present, their thinking isn"t as clouded," he said. "It"s all about alleviating anxiety."

WATCH IT!

Dr. Keith Vollstedt suggested a phone call to the surgeon would be in order for any or all of these situations. Call well before 5 p.m., if you can, he recommended. Don"t wait if some issue is truly causing you worry. "Peace of mind is well worth a phone call," he said. "Trust your intuition if something seems wrong."

- Incision area is red, swollen or drains

- A low-grade fever that doesn"t go away with a few doses of Tylenol or a triple-digit fever.

- Pain that isn"t alleviated after a few doses ibuprofen

- Leg pain (could be blood clots)

- Fatigue that seems beyond what might be normal

- Suddenly feeling much worse