Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
Red flag card for the home attendant | CION Cancer Clinics
A fever of 38 degrees or above, a wound spreading red or leaking thick fluid, new breathlessness or chest pain, a swollen painful calf, vomiting that keeps returning, a hard swollen belly, very little urine, or sudden confusion. Any one of these after cancer surgery is a same-day call. This page is the card, written out in four groups, with what to do when you see a sign. CION Cancer Clinics’ surgical oncologists in Hyderabad can talk this through with you.
MI
Medically reviewed by Dr. Mohammed ImaduddinConsultant Surgical Oncologist · MBBS, MS (General Surgery), MCh (Surgical Oncology) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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On this page
- Which warning signs after surgery need a call today?
- The four groups of signs, and what each one usually means
- What is usually normal, and what is not
- What do you actually do in the next ten minutes?
- Four things attendants do that cost time, and what to do instead
- How to use the card, and what it cannot tell you
- Common questions about warning signs after surgery
The short answer
Which warning signs after surgery need a call today?
A fever of 38 degrees or above, a wound that is spreading red, leaking thick fluid or opening up, new breathlessness or chest pain, a swollen painful calf, vomiting that will not stop, a belly that is swelling and hard, no urine for many hours, or a person who is suddenly confused or very drowsy. Any one of these is a same-day call to the surgical team.
Why a card, and not just memory
At eleven at night, with a parent groaning in the next room, nobody remembers a list they read a week ago. A card on the bedroom wall, with the signs on one side and the helpline number on the other, turns a panic into a phone call. This page is that card, written out, with the reasons behind each line.
Who this card is for
The attendant at home after a cancer operation of any kind, in the first weeks after discharge. It covers the signs common to most operations. Your discharge summary may add signs specific to the operation that was done, such as those for a stoma (an opening of the bowel onto the belly). Those lines belong on the card too.
The card does not replace the discharge summary. Keep both together.
!
Do not phone first. Go to the nearest emergency department.
Sudden breathlessness or chest pain. Bleeding that soaks through a dressing and keeps coming. A fit, a collapse, or a person who cannot be woken properly. Lips or fingertips turning blue. Any of these cannot wait for a call to be returned. Take the discharge summary and the medicine list, tell the emergency team when the operation was, and call the surgical team from the road. Do not give food, water or a tablet on the way.
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistThe card
The four groups of signs, and what each one usually means
Read each group once now. Later you only need to check the person against the lists.
The wound
Infection usually shows in the skin around the wound before it shows anywhere else, and it gives a day or two of warning to someone who is looking.
Call today if
- Redness spreading outwards from the edges
- Thick yellow or green fluid, or a bad smell
- The edges pulling apart
- The area hot, hard and more painful than yesterday
Fever and infection
A fever after surgery is a sign that something is being fought, in the wound, the chest, the urine or the blood. Check the temperature twice a day, and write it down.
Call today if
- Temperature of 38 degrees or above
- Shivering or teeth chattering
- Burning or cloudy, smelly urine
- A new cough with coloured phlegm
Chest and legs
Lying still after an operation lets blood clot in the leg veins. A clot that travels to the lungs causes sudden breathlessness. This is why the team keeps saying walk.
Call today if
- One calf swollen, warm or painful to press
- Breathless doing things that were fine yesterday
- Chest pain when breathing in
Belly, bowels and urine
The gut and the bladder are often slow after any operation. Slow is expected. Stopped, or going backwards, is not.
Call today if
- Vomiting that keeps returning, or cannot keep water down
- A belly that is swelling, tight or hard
- No wind or motion for days, with pain
- Very little urine, or none for many hours
Side by side
What is usually normal, and what is not
Usually part of recovery
Call the team today
Pain that is easing a little each day with the tablets
Pain that is worse than yesterday despite the tablets
A little thin, clear or pink fluid on the dressing
Thick, cloudy or smelly fluid, or a soaked dressing
Tiredness, low appetite and poor sleep in the first week
Drowsiness you cannot rouse them from, or new confusion
Mild bloating and a slow first motion
A hard swollen belly, repeated vomiting, no wind at all
Leave a number, we will call you
One field. No form to fill in, and no charge for the call.
When you see a sign
What do you actually do in the next ten minutes?
Measure and note
Take the temperature with a thermometer, not a hand on the forehead. Look at the wound in good light and take a photo. Note the time. This is what the team will ask for first.
Call the surgical team or the helpline
Say the person's name, the operation, the date of discharge, and the sign you have seen. Send the photo if asked. Have the discharge summary and the medicine list in your hand while you talk.
Do what you are told, not what the neighbour suggests
You may be asked to come in, to send another photo in a few hours, or to go to the nearest emergency department. Do not add a tablet or a home remedy while you wait.
Get ready to travel
If you are asked to come in, bring the summary, the medicines in their strips, the photos, and a second attendant if you can. Arrange the vehicle early.
Commonly believed
Four things attendants do that cost time, and what to do instead
"It is night. We will see how he is in the morning."
Infection and clots do not wait for the morning, and the hours after midnight are exactly when they are missed. A call that turns out to be nothing costs a few minutes. A wait that turns out to be something costs much more.
"Give a paracetamol first and check the fever again later."
Paracetamol brings the number down without touching the cause, and it hides the very sign the team is relying on. Measure first, call, and then give the tablet if the team says so.
"More pain means the wound is healing."
Healing pain eases a little each day. Pain that is climbing, or that has changed in character, points to something collecting under the wound or to infection. It is one of the earliest warnings you will get.
"She is just weak from the operation, that is why she is confused."
New confusion or unusual drowsiness in an older person after surgery is often the first sign of infection, low sugar or a medicine problem, not weakness. It goes on the card as a same-day sign, especially in anyone over sixty.
Being straight with you
How to use the card, and what it cannot tell you
Copy the four lists by hand onto a sheet of paper in Telugu, or in whichever language the night attendant reads most easily. Write the helpline number at the top. Stick one copy on the wall by the bed and keep a photo of it on every family member's phone.
What the card cannot do
It cannot tell you what is wrong. A fever could be the wound, the chest, the urine or something else, and only the team can sort that out. It cannot tell you that everything is fine, either. A person can be seriously unwell with none of these signs, particularly an older person or someone on steroids. If your gut says something is wrong, call, even if nothing on the card matches.
Who needs a longer card
Someone with a stoma, a feeding tube, a drain still in, a catheter, or a tracheostomy (a breathing opening in the neck) will have extra signs on the discharge summary. Add them. Someone with diabetes needs sugar readings on the card. Someone on blood thinners needs a line about bleeding and black stools.
Review the card at each follow-up visit and cross off what no longer applies.Questions we are asked
Common questions about warning signs after surgery
How long after the operation do I keep watching for these signs?
Most wound infections and clots show up in the first few weeks after discharge, so that is when the card matters most. Keep it up until the surgeon says the wound is closed and recovery is on track. Some signs, such as a swollen calf, are worth knowing about for longer.
What thermometer should I use, and where?
Any ordinary digital thermometer under the arm or in the mouth is fine, as long as you use the same one the same way each time. Write the reading down with the time. A reading that is climbing across the day matters as much as any single number.
Can I send a photo of the wound instead of coming in?
Often, yes. Most surgical teams will look at a clear photo in good light, next to yesterday's photo, and tell you whether to come in. That is why a daily photo from the first day home is worth the effort. The decision to travel is theirs.
The person has a fever but seems fine otherwise. Do I still call?
Yes. A fever of 38 degrees or above after surgery is a call whatever the person looks like, because infection can move quickly and the early hours are the easiest to treat. Measure it, note it, and call. Do not give paracetamol first and wait to see whether it comes back.
What if I cannot reach the surgeon at night?
Use the helpline number on the card, or go to the nearest emergency department with the discharge summary. Any emergency doctor can start treatment and speak to the surgical team. Not being able to reach one number is never a reason to wait until morning.
Is loose motion or constipation a warning sign?
On its own, usually not. Pain tablets cause constipation, and antibiotics cause loose motions, and both are common. What goes on the card is a hard swollen belly, vomiting with it, no wind at all, or loose motions with fever or blood. Those need a call.
Should I keep giving the medicines if the person is vomiting?
Do not decide that on your own. Some medicines matter a great deal and some can be paused, and the surgeon or the prescribing doctor sets that. Vomiting that stops tablets going in is itself a reason to call today, and the team will tell you what to do about each medicine.
Can I get the card as a printout in Telugu?
Ask at discharge. Many wards can print the signs specific to the operation, and the nurse will go through them with you. If not, copy the four lists on this page by hand in Telugu. The attendant who wrote the card remembers it.
Meet the Specialists
17+ senior cancer specialists. One panel for your case.
Trained at AIIMS, Tata Memorial, and leading international centres. Combined 150+ years of experience. Every complex case is reviewed by 3+ of them — together.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
MBBS(Gold Medal), DNB(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Gold Medal)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
Medical Oncologist
Medical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Muralidhar Muddusetty
MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery) (AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh)
Surgical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Vinay Mamidala
MBBS, MS(General Surgery), M.Ch(Surgical Oncology), FMAS, FARIS(Ongoing)
Surgical Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Hematologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Vajja Sandeep Kumar
MBBS, MS (General Surgery), DrNB (Surgical Oncology), FALS Oncology
Surgical Oncologist
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Where to find us
Our centres in and around Hyderabad
Addressed by landmark, because that is how this city navigates. A surgical consultation can be booked at any of these centres through one helpline, and your team will tell you where the operation itself takes place.
Warangal
Vizag
Sources
- NHS — High temperature (fever) in adults
- NHS — Sepsis
- NHS — Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
- Cancer Research UK — After surgery
- American Cancer Society — Caregiver Resource Guide
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Complications and Red FlagsWhat each complication is and how the team treats itManaging Wound Care at Home as a CaretakerHow to look at the wound properly each dayCaring for Someone at Home After Cancer SurgeryThe daily routine the card sits insideA Printable Surgery Family ChecklistThe rest of the paperwork to keep beside the cardThe Attendant's Job, Day by DayWhat the attendant does on the ward before discharge
Talk to us
Seen something on the card?
Call now and say the operation, the discharge date and the sign. A member of the surgical team will tell you whether to send a photo, come in, or go to the nearest emergency department. One helpline serves every CION centre.