Your first day after cancer surgery, hour by hour | CION Cancer Clinics

Usually once he has left the recovery room and settled in his bed, which can take some hours after the operation ends. If he goes to the ICU, visiting follows that unit's rules. Stay near the waiting area and keep your phone switched on, so the team can find you when he is ready.

The anaesthetic and strong pain medicines both cause sleepiness, and some people are muddled for a while, especially older people. It usually improves as the medicines wear off. Tell the nurse if the confusion is new, getting worse or makes him try to pull at his tubes.

It depends on the operation. After many operations sips are allowed early. After surgery on the food pipe, stomach or bowel, the team may keep you nil by mouth for longer so the joins can heal. Always ask the nurse first, and do not let visitors give you anything without checking.

Some blood-stained fluid in a drain is expected after most operations, and it usually becomes paler over the following days. The nurses measure it regularly. Tell them at once if the bag fills quickly with bright red blood, or if the dressing around the drain soaks through.

Regular checks of your pulse, blood pressure, breathing and oxygen level are how the team spots a problem early, when it is easier to deal with. They are more frequent in the first hours and become less frequent as you settle. Ask if checks can be grouped together so you can sleep.

On a ward, many hospitals in India allow one attendant to stay. In the ICU or HDU relatives usually wait outside rather than at the bedside. Ask the unit what it allows. One calm, rested family member helps far more than several tired ones.

During a general anaesthetic a breathing tube usually sits in your throat. It often leaves the throat sore or the voice hoarse for a day or two afterwards. Sips of water, once allowed, help. Tell the team if swallowing becomes very painful or the soreness does not ease.

On the day, the surgeon can tell you what was removed and how the operation went. Whether the edges of the removed tissue are clear of cancer is only known once the pathology report comes back, which takes longer. Ask when that report is expected and who will go through it with you.