Laparoscopy how long to recover

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It looks like your browser does not have JavaScript enabled. Please turn on JavaScript and try again. Important Phone Numbers. Topic Contents Your Recovery How can you care for yourself at home? When should you call for help? Where can you learn more? Top of the page. Your Recovery After laparoscopic surgery, you are likely to have pain for the next several days. How can you care for yourself at home? Rest when you feel tired.

Getting enough sleep will help you recover. Try to walk each day. Start by walking a little more than you did the day before. Bit by bit, increase the amount you walk. Walking boosts blood flow and helps prevent pneumonia and constipation. One of the most disconcerting things about laparoscopy is the subsequent shoulder pain. This is caused by the CO2 gas becoming trapped against the diaphragm.

Heat and analgesics often bring relief. Be assured that time will take care of this pain. For more information about how to manage shoulder pain, read our article about p ost-surgery ailments. It seems that most of us experience some nausea after laparoscopy.

Many medications exist to help with this. Some can be taken before surgery, some during, and some after. Many women find that nausea is lessened when they lay flat. Some natural remedies, such as ginger tea, may also alleviate nausea.

To be on the safe side, always ask your health care professional before taking any herbs or supplements. For the first two or three days following laparoscopy, most women are tired and groggy. During this time, it helps to have a family member or friend remain close by. You may want to put this person in charge of managing your medications for the first couple of days.

You will probably also need someone to fix your meals for a short time. Your doctor may restrict driving for two weeks following laparoscopy. Intercourse, tub bathing, douching, and swimming will also be restricted.

You will probably be very tired and need lots of naps. You will recover more quickly if you move about. Most of us experience a period of emotional ups and downs following surgery. For some, the blues remain for several weeks.

Some of us have also experienced nightmares following surgery. All of this will pass in time and you will begin to feel in control again. Be gentle and patient with yourself during your physical and emotional recovery.

If the laparoscopy is used to carry out a surgical treatment, such as removing your appendix, further incisions will be made in your abdomen. Small, surgical instruments can be inserted through these incisions, and the surgeon can guide them to the right place using the view from the laparoscope. Once in place, the instruments can be used to carry out the required treatment. After the procedure, the carbon dioxide is let out of your abdomen, the incisions are closed using stitches or clips and a dressing is applied.

When laparoscopy is used to diagnose a condition, the procedure usually takes minutes. It will take longer if the surgeon is treating a condition, depending on the type of surgery being carried out.

After laparoscopy, you may feel groggy and disorientated as you recover from the effects of the anaesthetic. Some people feel sick or vomit. These are common side effects of the anaesthetic and should pass quickly. You'll be monitored by a nurse for a few hours until you're fully awake and able to eat, drink and pass urine. Before you leave hospital, you'll be told how to keep your wounds clean and when to return for a follow-up appointment or have your stitches removed although dissolvable stitches are often used.

For a few days after the procedure, you're likely to feel some pain and discomfort where the incisions were made, and you may also have a sore throat if a breathing tube was used.

You'll be given painkilling medication to help ease the pain. Some of the gas used to inflate your abdomen can remain inside your abdomen after the procedure, which can cause:. These symptoms are nothing to worry about and should pass after a day or so, once your body has absorbed the remaining gas. Postoperative pain resolves within a few days and the scarring is minimal.

The surgical alternative to laparoscopy is open surgery laparotomy. Instead of a few small incisions, the abdomen is opened with one large cut. The main disadvantages of laparotomy are the extended hospital stay up to one week or so and the long recovery time.

A person who undergoes open surgery can expect at least six weeks of convalescence. Compared to laparoscopy, laparotomy has increased risks of infection and adhesions. The resulting scars from open surgery are also much more extensive. This page has been produced in consultation with and approved by:. Allergy testing is used to find which substances provoke an allergic reaction. An appendectomy is usually carried out on an emergency basis to treat appendicitis.

Most people can resume normal activities around three weeks after an arthroscopy. IVF in-vitro-fertilization and ICSI intracytoplasmic sperm injection are assisted reproductive treatment ART procedures in which fertilisation of an egg occurs outside the body.

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