How to Know when to Call the Doctor After Breast Implant Surgery
Inform yourself in advance, if possible., Change the bandages according to your doctor's or nurse's instructions., Comply with the instructions concerning bathing., Try to prevent infection by foregoing physical activity., Do visual bandage checks...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Inform yourself in advance
Ask questions when meeting with the surgeon and the anesthesiologist prior to surgery.
Once you (or your loved one) is in the hospital, ask the staff about specific care-giving tasks before you leave.
This may involve how much and what type of physical activity the patient should participate in, how to bandage scars, warning signs to check for, etc. -
Step 2: if possible.
If you don't know how often to change them, call and ask.
Do not open any professionally applied bandages "just to take a look".
Ask your doctor or nurse whether you need to apply topical disinfectant and which kind is safe to use.
Buy rubber gloves, and sterile gauze or adhesive gauze bandages in the appropriate size in the drugstore.
When changing the bandages, do not breathe in the direction of the scar.
As long as the stitches are still in, the site is prone to infection because the skin is still broken. , Usually, bathing is not permitted as long as drainage tubes are still in place.
Whether you can bathe with stitches still in is a question of your overall health status and should be decided by your doctor.
Whenever your/their scars come in contact with water, pat them dry gently with clean (preferably sterile and disposable) material and apply disinfectant (if advised by the doctor) before applying clean bandages and putting on the post-surgery support bra and chest belt.
If you do use regular towels, do not share towels with other people and launder them often, using the hottest available setting on your washing machine. , If the patient sweats, this will aid bacterial growth.
Movement will place tension on the scars and increase the risk of opening them.
Put a care network in place and avoid any kind of strenuous activity.
Order in the patient's meals, if nobody else can provide care.
Don't let them lift anything heavy.
Physically place your hands over your scars and apply pressure while laughing, sneezing, coughing, or doing anything that causes your chest muscles to contract. , Take pictures regularly from the outside to monitor leakage of fluids.
Draw around visible leaks/stains with a pen on the outside of the bandage to monitor whether it is expanding or has already stopped.
Don't press on the bandage too hard.
If there is leakage of fluids that are slightly yellow and very watery, that is normal.
If the bandage is soaking through very quickly or the site is bleeding, or the site around the stitches is puffy and red, the patient runs a fever or is feeling intense pain, always call the doctor.
If any of the stitches should open up, call ahead and then immediately take the patient in to medical care.
If the patient is released from the hospital with drainage tubes still in, and one of them should slip out or loosen, DO NOT touch the site or pull, push or tug on the tube.
They are very long and you will cause internal injury.
Seek medical assistance immediately. -
Step 3: Change the bandages according to your doctor's or nurse's instructions.
-
Step 4: Comply with the instructions concerning bathing.
-
Step 5: Try to prevent infection by foregoing physical activity.
-
Step 6: Do visual bandage checks from the outside and take the patient's temperature regularly (at least twice a day).
Detailed Guide
Ask questions when meeting with the surgeon and the anesthesiologist prior to surgery.
Once you (or your loved one) is in the hospital, ask the staff about specific care-giving tasks before you leave.
This may involve how much and what type of physical activity the patient should participate in, how to bandage scars, warning signs to check for, etc.
If you don't know how often to change them, call and ask.
Do not open any professionally applied bandages "just to take a look".
Ask your doctor or nurse whether you need to apply topical disinfectant and which kind is safe to use.
Buy rubber gloves, and sterile gauze or adhesive gauze bandages in the appropriate size in the drugstore.
When changing the bandages, do not breathe in the direction of the scar.
As long as the stitches are still in, the site is prone to infection because the skin is still broken. , Usually, bathing is not permitted as long as drainage tubes are still in place.
Whether you can bathe with stitches still in is a question of your overall health status and should be decided by your doctor.
Whenever your/their scars come in contact with water, pat them dry gently with clean (preferably sterile and disposable) material and apply disinfectant (if advised by the doctor) before applying clean bandages and putting on the post-surgery support bra and chest belt.
If you do use regular towels, do not share towels with other people and launder them often, using the hottest available setting on your washing machine. , If the patient sweats, this will aid bacterial growth.
Movement will place tension on the scars and increase the risk of opening them.
Put a care network in place and avoid any kind of strenuous activity.
Order in the patient's meals, if nobody else can provide care.
Don't let them lift anything heavy.
Physically place your hands over your scars and apply pressure while laughing, sneezing, coughing, or doing anything that causes your chest muscles to contract. , Take pictures regularly from the outside to monitor leakage of fluids.
Draw around visible leaks/stains with a pen on the outside of the bandage to monitor whether it is expanding or has already stopped.
Don't press on the bandage too hard.
If there is leakage of fluids that are slightly yellow and very watery, that is normal.
If the bandage is soaking through very quickly or the site is bleeding, or the site around the stitches is puffy and red, the patient runs a fever or is feeling intense pain, always call the doctor.
If any of the stitches should open up, call ahead and then immediately take the patient in to medical care.
If the patient is released from the hospital with drainage tubes still in, and one of them should slip out or loosen, DO NOT touch the site or pull, push or tug on the tube.
They are very long and you will cause internal injury.
Seek medical assistance immediately.
About the Author
Lori Garcia
Brings years of experience writing about crafts and related subjects.
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