First Week After Surgery
- Sleep on your back with your upper body elevated 45 degrees. Use a recliner, wedge pillow, or multiple pillows.
- Apply cool compresses for 15–20 minutes every hour while awake for the first 3 days.
- DO NOT APPLY ICE TO SKIN DIRECTLY.
- Your skin is numb and you may give yourself frostbite.
- Get up slowly and walk slowly but regularly with assistance to promote circulation.
- Avoid bending, straining, or lifting.
- You may feel weak and dehydrated, so be careful of falling. Stay hydrated.
- You may shower 48–72 hours after surgery, but be careful of falling.
- Use gentle pressure and lukewarm water. Do not rub incisions.
Medications
- Take antibiotics as prescribed until finished. Notify us if you have any reactions.
- Use prescribed pain medication or Tylenol if pain is mild.
- Do not exceed 4,000 mg of Tylenol in 24 hours.
- Begin stool softener when taking narcotic pain medication. Do not force or strain during bowel movement.
- Take your Medrol steroid dose pack as instructed.
Incision Care
- Most likely you will need to be driven to the office to have the pressure wrap or drains removed the day after surgery.
- If you have “hemostatic net sutures,” do not panic. They may look unpleasant, but they are removed 3 days later and leave no marks.
- Start wearing the Velcro chin strap as much as possible.
- Be careful not to let the strap “pleat” the skin or pull the skin forward. Adjust the strap to keep it in proper position.
- Clean incisions with a Q-tip dipped in diluted hydrogen peroxide gently 3–4 times a day.
- “Roll the Q-tip.” Do not scrub.
- Mix half peroxide with half water in the cap, then discard excess.
- Apply prescribed antibiotic ointment or Vaseline ointment as directed 3–4 times a day very gently.
- Use HOCL (Hypochlorous Acid) spray on skin, scalp, and incisions 3 times a day as an antiseptic.
- Do not pick or pull at incisions.
- If you have sutures by the ears, do not pull on the ears. Do not bend ears forward when cleaning behind the ears.
- Sutures are typically removed 1 week after surgery.
- Protect skin and incisions from sun exposure. Use a large hat.
- Avoid tight-neck shirts such as turtlenecks for 1 month.
- If you have a drain, prevent it from pulling out. It will be removed by your doctor when deemed appropriate.
- “Milk the drain” as shown by holding onto the drain close to the skin to prevent it from pulling out, then pinch and pull the drainage toward the bulb.
- Empty the bulb when more than one-third full and keep the bulb “squeezed down” to create suction.
Activity and Recovery
- Avoid lifting over 20 pounds for 2 weeks.
- Most patients return to work in 2 weeks.
- Avoid strenuous exercise for 3–4 weeks.
- Do not drive while taking narcotic pain medication.
- For men: Do not shave for 3 weeks. Afterwards, use a manual razor carefully, especially around the incision.
Normal Symptoms
- Mild swelling and bruising.
- Mild bleeding.
- Tightness, numbness, or mild itching.
- Mild asymmetries.
- Smile asymmetries.
- Noticeable incision.
- Lumps and bumps.
Notify Your Doctor Immediately If You Experience
- Fever greater than 101°F.
- Severe or worsening swelling. “Goose eggs.”
- Excessive bleeding.
- Rash, severe itching, or blisters.
- Call 911 if you experience shortness of breath, acute swallowing difficulty, or chest pain.