1. Educational purpose
The information on this website is provided for general education about recovery after surgery. It is not a substitute for the written instructions your own discharging team gave you, for a review appointment, or for a personal assessment by a qualified physician. Where anything here differs from what your own clinical team told you, follow them and ask them.
2. No guaranteed outcomes
Recovery varies from person to person with anatomy, the operation performed, general health and adherence to aftercare. No outcome can be guaranteed. Swelling can take months to settle, scars are permanent and mature over twelve to eighteen months, and the final result of most operations is judged at six to twelve months rather than in the first weeks. Any description of a typical course of recovery on this site is general and may not apply to your situation.
3. Medicines and products
This site describes classes of pain relief and of dressing rather than named products, and it gives no dosages. Only a clinician who has examined you and knows your medical history can prescribe or advise on medication. Do not start, stop or change any medicine, and do not apply anything to a healing wound, on the basis of what you read here.
4. Seek professional advice
If you experience warning signs after any procedure — severe or worsening pain, spreading redness or warmth, fever, a wound that opens or discharges, heavy bleeding, a swollen painful calf, chest pain, breathlessness, or a flap or graft that turns dark or cold — seek urgent medical attention immediately. Do not wait for your next appointment. For general questions, contact the team that performed your operation.
5. External links
Links to external websites are provided for convenience. We are not responsible for the content of external sites.