Postoperative Care

Signature Health Services can help with postoperative care.

Postoperative care

What is postoperative care?

After a patient goes through a surgical procedure, postoperative care or post-surgery care provides comfort, pain relief, wound care, and day-to-day support. Depending on the surgery, postoperative care could happen at the hospital or at home once the patient is discharged.

How to prepare ahead?

Depending on the nature of the surgery, gender, age, health condition, and sometimes the time of the surgery, the postoperative care varies from surgery to surgery. Here is a list of questions you can ask your doctor regarding the complete care required:

How long will I be expected to be hospitalized?
What are the foreseen side effects?
Will I need any medications or unique supplies when I go home?
Will I need a physical therapist or a caregiver when I go home?
What things should I do or avoid to support my recovery?
What complications should I be aware of?
When can I resume regular activity?

male nurse going over paper work with patient

The steps of postoperative care

Post-surgery care is divided into three phases:

An immediate or post-anesthetic stage.
The intermediate phase encompasses the hospitalization period.
A convalescent period.

The first two phases focus on maintaining balance, treating pain, and preventing and detecting complications. The third stage (convalescent phase) transitions from the hospital, discharge, home care, and complete recovery.

Types of postoperative care

There are two basic postoperative care types: inpatient and home-based care.

Postoperative care at the hospital
Depending on the patient’s type of surgery, they might need to stay there for a period. During this time, the trained nurses and other medical professionals take the right kind of care as instructed by the surgeon or the consultant.

Postoperative care at home
Followed by discharge, this type of care includes diet instructions, signs that indicate complications, taking prescribed medications, physical therapy activities, and keeping up with follow-up appointments. All of these are essential to reduce the instructed time for complete recovery.

Goals of postoperative care

Regaining mobility through post-surgery rehab
The first goal of post-surgery rehab is to get moving as soon as possible. Moving will help improve blood circulation to the recovering area.

Increasing flexibility with physical therapy
Scar tissue forms, and soft tissues, like tendons or ligaments, shrink after surgery. As a result, joints can stiffen, and the range of motion can be limited by scar tissue formation.

Strengthening muscles during post-surgery rehab
After surgery, muscles that your body uses every day may begin to experience atrophy. Post-surgery rehab can help regain strength in muscles and stabilize the injured area. Strengthening the muscles around the impacted area can also help prevent injury recurrence.

The role of a skilled nurse in recovery
Registered skilled nurses understand the patient’s risks of complications and are prepared to intervene accordingly. Nursing interventions include:

keeping surgical sites free of signs of infection,
monitoring vital signs,
managing pain, and
providing reports about the patient’s condition to the doctor and the family, among other tasks.

Why choose Signature Health Services after your surgery?

A licensed specialist should conduct every physical therapy session or medication administration. Although patients with recent surgery usually require several different types of care, we can accommodate their individual needs.

We have the experience and resources to provide the best support for patients and their families. Also, our registered nurses may help with early recovery assistance and could support the rehabilitation process.

For more information on how Signature Health Services can help with your healthcare needs, please call 1 (800) 277-8291 (option 1) or email information@signaturehealthservices.net.