Checklist for Keyhole Surgery

Hey all, it has been more than 3 weeks since my surgery!

LOL! Maybe you are sick of reading about my post surgery but I would rather pen this down for the needed ones. I admit that I was not well prepared for my post surgery and it cause me some inconvenience and probably caught my hubby off guard. So here is what you may need to know.

During surgery, take note that you can’t be wearing any ear-rings, necklaces, watch and so on. So refrain from wearing anything expensive in case you will lose it especially for the absent minded ones. Of course, there is a safe for you to put all your belongings. You may want to check that with the hospital you are staying. And make sure you pack a set of comfortable clothing and shoes for yourself to wear during check out. You won’t want anything tight or rough around your incisions. That would be incredibly uncomfortable.

You know what? I forgot to pack comfy clothing for checkout. But I did pack my pajamas which is a shirt and a pair of adjustable shorts which worked well. If not, I have no idea what I would do. I don’t think I wanna wear my tight shorts over my incisions. That is crazy.

And don’t be alarm. Before the surgery, the nurse will attend to you and one of it is to shave your ‘you know where’. And by doing so, it can be extremely itchy during recovery. To avoid that, you can opt to wax before the surgery.

And, here goes the checklist. This is what you need to prepare for your post surgery

– Clean your house. Unless you have someone to do it for you, you really won’t have the strength to move around

– Plan your food! Trust me, it will be stressful to cook. Getting out of bed and walking to the toilet is hard enough. I gave up after 2 days and quickly get helped from my sisters, friends and food delivery. If you are a mummy with a family, you can also plan food delivery in advance so that your family have something to eat.

– It won’t be easy to pass motion with all that pain around your abdomen. So eat food that is high in fibre like oats.

– Ensure there is someone with you for the first 3-4 days (depending on how fast you recover). It is seriously difficult to move around. Even boiling water to make a drink was difficult. I couldn’t even carry a full jug of water. You will need help to get up, someone to bring food to you and anything at all.

– Prepare a sleep area that is convenient to get to the toilet and your things. Set all your things on a side table: water, medicine, phone, tablet, table light, charger, snack, power plug extension, tissue, lip balm, etc.

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Yes, that’s me with my dinosaur laptop which I use to blog.

– At times, if there is no one there for you, would be good to have some healthy snacks or food next to you. You can get a bite and a drink without needing to plead for help

– Times like this, a chair is your best friend. I placed a chair in my kitchen (It’s still there!). I will sit down and prepare my food or drinks. I would have place a chair in the shower as well (but I didn’t have a water resistant one). It was difficult to put on clothes and standing for long is exhausting. I just sat on the closed toilet bowl to change. Really, lifting up my legs was a challenge!

– You need loose comfortable clothes! Clothes that won’t be tight around your incisions. That includes your underwear. I didn’t prepare that so.. I need to find some solutions. *sweat*

– You will also get a lot of gas in your stomach due to the surgery. It is the main reason of your pain. More painful that the incisions. Try to avoid food that causes gas for the first few days. Standing and walking around will be of great help to release the gas.

– You will also have shoulder pains. Apparently it is related to the gas. I googled and the advise is to get a heating pad to soothe the pain. But for me, when the pain comes, I lie down flat on the bed and relax. Eventually the pain goes away.

– DON’T carry anything heavy. Your incisions and stitches in the inside needs to heal!

So I guess, that’s about it. Basically for the first few days, you will have trouble getting up as your abdomen is weak due to the incisions. Just imagine, doing too much abdomen exercise for the first time. You will have trouble laughing, sitting up and even lying down. That is how it will be. One way of getting up is to turn to your side and slowly push yourself up. I was only able to turn to my side on the 3rd day. *phew* But once you get up, it was not so hard to walk around. Whatever movement that relies on the abdomen will be difficult. It will get better after a week. And after 2 weeks, you should be well enough to continue with your usual activities. Of course, that depends on each individual.

And for the curious ones, here is how my scars are doing. This picture was taken last week when my plasters were removed. Not so bad, right? *smile* Much smaller than I expected!

plasters removed
The tiny scars right after the plasters were removed. You can still see the sticky bits of the plaster.

And if you are wondering how on earth can a 10cm fibroid come out of that tiny bit, I would probably share that in my next blog showing you a video of it, if you DARE to have a look!

Hope this helps. šŸ™‚ šŸ™‚ šŸ™‚ Keep smiling.

Cheers,

Mary

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6 thoughts on “Checklist for Keyhole Surgery

  1. Mary! Hope you are recovering well from the surgery. Your blog posts has really been informative and intimidating at the same time. Am really happy that the surgery went well. Will look forward to your next blog and also our next meeting haha. Take care and God bless!

    • Hi Ayden! Great to hear from you. Hope you are doing well. Ha-ha. Intimidated? I don’t mean to do that. šŸ˜€ Yes, hope to meet you again, one day! Loves.

  2. Hello…thanks for your blog which is useful to me.

    I just had my keyhole surgery to remove fibroids. Today is day 8. Doc said I can remove the plasters on my own and i won’t see her until 30days later. Hence, i would like to know whether u remove the plasters yourself or by doc. When did u have the surgery?

    Many thanks.

    • Hi Vivian, I am glad to know that my blog has been helpful.

      No, I didn’t remove the plasters on my own. I returned after 2 weeks and the nurses simply peel off the plasters and spray some kind of protective layer on it. That cost me a hefty RM100 from what I remembered!

      So, actually you can remove it on your own once you feel that it has healed. Just peel it off. If there is no infection, it should be fine. You should still feel your stitches as it heals. So, don’t touch it. It will slowly dissolve. And if you wanna protect it with a new plaster, you can easily purchase it from the pharmacist. I had my surgery in mid-June. I am fine now. Get well soon!

  3. Hi Mary, I’m about to go for the keyhole surgery in a months time. Also with dr Wong. May I know if u avoided/ pantang any food post surgery? Thanks

    • Hi Mei,
      After surgery, I tried to eat clean. No shellfish for a whole month! During the first week, white porridge with chicken/vege. I even avoided soy sauce because I heard it will darken the scars! Also, you will get a lot of gas. So avoid food like bread and potatoes that can cause gas. Don’t worry. You are in good hands with Dr Wong. And once he removes the plasters, you will be surprise how small the little scar is. Like a mosquito bite. Take care dear!

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