After Your Operation, Your Recovery, and Discharge

How Long Will You Be in the Hospital?

Most women can go home the same day after lumpectomy. For a mastectomy, you may go home the same day or stay for 1-2 nights, depending on the type of surgery. If you have breast reconstruction, you may stay 1-3 days.  The amount of time you stay depends on the type of surgery you have. Your overall health is also a factor. Your plastic surgery team will discuss this with you before surgery.

Fatigue and Thinking Clearly

After surgery, you may feel tired and possibly confused. Confusion can be from the anesthesia and pain medication. Feeling tired may last for several weeks. You may need to rely on family, friends, and coworkers for assistance with tasks while you rest. When people call or visit and ask what they can do to help, have some ideas and tasks ready.

Breathing Deep and Preventing Pneumonia

Keep your lungs expanded and active to prevent pneumonia. Take 8 to 10 deep breaths every hour when awake. Breathe in deeply and slowly through your nose. Hold for a count of 3 to 5. Breathe out slowly and completely. Do not force your breath out. Rest and repeat.

Walking and Preventing Blood Clots

Blood clots can result after lying still and not moving during and after your surgery. Support stockings may be placed on your lower legs prior to surgery and/or recommended for use after your surgery to help prevent blood clots in your legs. After surgery, it is important to get out of bed as soon as possible and walk around at least every 2 hours when awake. You may need to have help when you first get up after surgery to be sure you are stable and do not fall.

Common Side Effects

Nausea and vomiting are common side effects of anesthesia and of cancer treatments. Medication is available to manage any nausea. Try to keep drinking and eating normally after surgery.

At home, eat a balanced diet. This includes food high in proteins, such as lean meats, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts. If you need help with a balanced diet or managing your weight, ask to speak with a registered dietician while you are in the hospital.

Regular Bowel Movements/Constipation

Anesthesia, decreased activity, and pain medication (narcotics) can cause constipation. Increasing the fiber in your diet can keep your stool soft. You can eat high-fiber foods or use over-the-counter medicines like Metamucil^® or FiberCon^®.

Drink 8 to 10 glasses of fluid per day unless you are told otherwise.

Keeping you Informed

You may have a negative pressure wound dressing placed over your closed incision at the end of your surgery. This type of therapy uses a special dressing connected to a vacuum device, which helps incisions to heal. Studies have shown that this type of therapy may decrease postoperative wound problems, including risk for surgical site infection.^64,65

Your Surgical Bra

You may be wearing a postsurgical bra when you wake up from your surgery. Depending on the type of procedure that you have done, you may go home with a compression bra or wear a soft t-shirt home. You will be told when you can stop wearing the postsurgical bra and when you can remove it to shower. Then, find a bra that can be worn loosely. Gradually tighten the straps as the swelling goes down. A non-wire, front-fastening bra may be easiest to put on. Bra expanders increase the band of the bra so that it does not bind the chest too tightly. Women with larger breasts can relieve the pressure on their shoulder straps by slipping a bra shoulder pad under one or both straps.

Examples of breast care bras include:

• Compression bra
• Front closure bra with drain support
• Bra with prosthesis pocket

Your Surgical Wound

Wound care may include:⁶³

• You will have sutures (stitches), Steri-Strips®, and/or surgical glue over your incision(s).
• Sutures (stitches): absorbable or non-asorbable (removed in 5 to 10 days by your surgeon).
• Steri-Strips^® will usually fall off in 7-10 days.
• Surgical glue will usually fall off on its own in 5 to 10 days. Do not pick at or peel away the surgical glue.

• You will be told when you can remove the post-surgical bra to shower, usually 48 hours after surgery. A lanyard with a clip may be used to hold up your drain(s) while showering. You may also want to use a shower chair. You can usually run water in the shower over your surgical incisions but do not rub or touch the site. Pat the area dry.
• Avoid baths, swimming pools, or hot tubs until your incision is healed.
• Do not use deodorant under the affected arm for several weeks until the incision(s) are healed.
• Check your incision site regularly for any signs of infection.

Practice Skill: Wash Your Incision Site

1. Check your incision site for any sign of infection.
2. Leave the surgical glue or Steri-Strips® in place. These will fall off on their own in 5-10 days.
3. Wash your hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer.
4. Wet and soap a clean washcloth with warm water.
5. Pat the soap and water over the incision site. Follow with water only to rinse off the soap.
6. Pat dry.