After Your Surgery

Your surgeon has provided you with guidelines to ensure the best possible outcome for your surgery.

Your surgeon will tell you whether you should remove your post-operative bandage yourself or wait until your follow-up appointment.

Use the pain medicine your surgeon has prescribed and follow the directions exactly as they appear on your medication bottle. If you can't control your pain or the medication makes you sick, please call your surgeon's office. 

When to Call Your Surgeon 

Call our office if you experience a fever greater than 101.5° F or have a sudden increase in pain or uncontrollable pain. 

Examine your incision or bandage regularly, checking for redness, drainage and/or a foul odor. These could be signs of an infection. If you experience any of these symptoms, please call us.

Help After Surgery

Many surgical and diagnostic procedures now can be done on an outpatient basis thanks to advances in medical treatment. Rather than staying overnight in the hospital, you can go home to recover. 

To keep you safe, you cannot drive yourself home or be home alone through the evening and morning following your surgery. If you can't have a friend or family member drive you home and stay with you, you can either: 

• Reschedule your surgery until someone is available to help in your recovery; or
• Take advantage of the post-procedure patient care services available in this area.

Prescription Refills

Please ask about prescription refills during your appointment. Let us know as soon as possible if you are out of your medication. 

When calling for a refill, please have the following information available: 

• Your name and date of birth
• Telephone number where you can be reached during the day
• The health care provider who prescribed your medication
• The name of the medication and its strength (the number of mg.) 
• How many you take each day
• The quantity requested (one-, two-, or three-month supply)
• The name and location of your pharmacy

Please give us a 24- to 48-hour notice for all prescription refills. 

If you use a mail-order pharmacy, please ask us for a written prescription two to three weeks in advance to allow enough time for you to mail in and receive your order.