Post-Op Instructions
Recovery from surgery is a process as unique as you.
Surgery places stress on the body’s reserves. Feelings of tiredness and discouragement are normal as preoperative symptoms slowly subside. Prescription pain medications can alter sleep patterns, bowel movements, and emotional responses. A positive attitude and patience are needed for successful recovery from any surgery. You will find that each day you will feel a little better. Your recovery is unique, as you are a unique person. By preparing ahead of time, you will feel more at ease with the entire surgery process.
Please click on the questions below for answers to the most common post-op questions.
Specific post-op instructions will be provided by your surgeon and his medical team.
What are my restrictions?
Take it easy! You just had surgery! Your restrictions will be dependent on your procedure. Please download the relevant post-op documents located on this page or refer to the instructions you received from our office.
How do I take care of my incision?
• Keep incisional dressing in place until 3 days after surgery; thereafter, remove dressing, leaving steri strips in place, and wash daily with soap and water.
• Avoid prolonged submersion of incision for 6 weeks.
• Do not apply creams, ointments, or lotions onto or near the incision.
• Please contact us at cbsi@cbsi.md or 303-783-8844 to report any signs of infection including increased redness, drainage, swelling, or fever.
How will my pain be managed?
• Have realistic expectations of your pain for the first few weeks post-op; the longer the nerves have been compressed, the longer it may take for the pain to resolve. You may experience some pain around your incision(s), as well as general stiffness, nerve pain, and muscle spasms as you heal. This pain usually decreases with time. Numbness and tingling are usually the last to improve and may not go away. Pain medications and muscle relaxers will be prescribed for the first few weeks following surgery; take them as directed to keep pain at a manageable level.
• Use heat to reduce muscle spasms and stiffness and to make soft tissue more limber; heat should only be applied for 15-20 minutes at a time.
• Alternatively, ice/cold packs may help with incisional pain; do not apply ice/cold packs directly to skin and avoid greater than 15 minutes of application.
What medications can I take?
• Avoid taking any NSAIDS for 2-6 weeks postoperatively depending on your specific procedure.
• Take prescriptions as instructed on prescriptions/bottles.
• Please monitor your refills closely and allow 3 business days for refill requests to be processed.
• Opiate prescriptions must be picked up at the office, or may be mailed, but cannot be called into pharmacies due to government regulations.
• If you have been discharged with changes to medications prescribed by other providers (PCP, cardiologist, rheumatologist, neurologist, pulmonologist, etc.), please follow-up with the respective provider for further recommendations.
• Per our office policy, which is guided by government policy, we are only able to provide prescriptions for 3 months postoperatively; should you require medications thereafter, we will recommend pain management specialists to follow-up with if your PCP is not comfortable providing refills.
• Please have your pharmacy fax non-opiate prescription refill requests to us directly at 303-783-2002.
Do I need physical therapy?
• During your second postoperative appointment, at 6-12 weeks postop depending on your procedure, you will receive a prescription for physical therapy as well as a list of known PT facilities. This will help you regain strength, flexibility and confidence after your surgery. It is important that you attend your physical therapy appointments as scheduled and do the exercises at home as directed by your physical therapist. This will help you to continue to improve your quality of life by regaining physical strength and ability.
When can I return to work?
• This will be determined on an individual basis during your postoperative appointments, and will take into consideration your work duties and requirements. We will fax letters of Release to Return to Work to employers once dates and restrictions are determined.
• If you have additional short-term disability paperwork that needs to be processed by our office, please mail or fax it to us as soon as possible, and allow up to 30 days for completion. The first set of short term disability forms will be completed free of charge. If you require additional forms for your job, there will be a $25 charge for each additional set. No long-term disability paperwork will be processed by our office.
Follow-up with Us
You will have a follow-up appointment with our office 2 weeks after surgery. This will typically be scheduled for you before your surgical procedure.
Follow-up with your other providers
• If you have been discharged home with oxygen, please follow-up with your primary care provider for further recommendations.
• If you have been discharged with a urinary catheter, please follow-up with Urology or your PCP.