What to expect after gallbladder surgery
Post-operative care:
· Usually all of the skin stitches used are dissolving and will go away on their own. Your surgeon will inform you if you require any special care for your wounds.
· You can shower a full 24 hours after surgery, typically the next evening. For example if you had your gallbladder surgery on Monday afternoon, you can shower on Tuesday evening.
· Please avoid submerging in water such as a bath / pool / hot tub / lake for 2-3 weeks until your cuts are fully healed.
· Avoid lifting anything over 10 pounds for 4 weeks to allow the repair to fully heal. Please let your surgeon know if you will require a note for time away from work or modified duties so that we can write one for you in a timely fashion.
· Any disability forms can be faxed to your surgeon’s office and will be filled out for you. Please know that your health information is confidential. Your surgeon will need your written permission to share any of your health information with insurance or your employer – this permission is usually a part of the forms. Please make sure you have filled out this portion of the form. There is a charge for these forms, please see the Insurance Forms page.
· You should call your surgeon’s office, or seek medical attention such as at an urgent care or emergency department if you have fevers or chills, ongoing nausea or vomiting, worsening pain over time instead of slow and steady improvement, signs of infection at the wounds such as spreading redness or leakage of pus, or are otherwise feeling unwell.
Pain Control After Gallbladder Surgery
It is normal to have some pain after surgery. You should expect this. The goal after surgery is to provide pain control that allows you to get up and moving so that you can have a smooth recovery. We want to keep your pain at a manageable level. Unfortunately we can’t make your pain immediately after surgery go to zero, but in time it should.
For most patients who have gallbladder surgery, pain control consists of common over the counter painkillers:
TYLENOL (medical name acetaminophen) and ADVIL (medical name ibuprofen)
Pain control after day surgery is managed with oral pain medications. Typically this includes a combination of TYLENOL (also called ACETAMINOPHEN) and ADVIL (also called ibuprofen) which is part of a family of medications called NSAIDs or Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs. We will also carefully use low doses of narcotics (opioids) if needed.
The first few days following surgery are typically the most uncomfortable - the pain control regimen set out here should help to minimize your discomfort.
TYLENOL and IBUPROFEN work through separate pathways to control your pain after an operation, and in combination they are extremely effective for pain control.
Alert your nurse or physician if you are unable to take NSAIDs (aspirin, ibuprofen, advil, motrin, ketorolac, Toradol) due to an allergy or due to kidney disease or other recommendation from your physician. Please let your nurse or physician know if you have liver disease and have been recommended to avoid Tylenol.
ALWAYS BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON THE BOTTLE REGARDING MAXIMUM DAILY DOSING TO AVOID SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS.
ALTERNATE taking TYLENOL and ADVIL every 4 hours for the first 3-5 days after your surgery. You may wish to set an alarm overnight to wake you – having regular pain control will help you get good quality rest. After 3-5 days, if your pain control is reasonable you may switch to taking TYLENOL or ADVIL as needed.
You may have also been provided a prescription for a low dose opioid. This is a painkiller that you can use to provide additional pain relief if the base of TYLENOL and ADVIL is inadequate. With the current opioid crisis we are very cautious when prescribing opioid pain medications. You will only receive a limited supply of low dose opioid, usually enough to last 2-4 days depending on how often you are taking it. Studies show that most individuals only need about 10 narcotic pills after day surgery, and many patients do not use their opioid pain medications at all. This prescription is provided in case TYLENOL and ADVIL are not sufficient pain relief after surgery. This medication has similar side effects to other opioids – it is constipating, and if taken with certain other medications can make you drowsy.