Patient guide/Chapter
Discharge & Recovery
A safe return home after surgery
Discharge is not the end of care — it is the home phase of recovery. Use this checklist; if hospital instructions differ, follow the hospital plan.
When in doubt, call. Early contact keeps many problems small.
- Ask before you leaveTap for details
Confirm prescriptions, wound care, bathing, diet, lifting limits, follow-up date, and who to call in an emergency.
- Pain and stomach-protection medicines
- Wound / drain care
- Follow-up appointment
- Emergency contact pathway
- First 48–72 hoursTap for details
Rest, but do not stay in bed all day — short walks lower clot and lung risk. Take pain medicine as directed; report rising pain.
- Wound careTap for details · key note inside
Wash your hands. Follow dressing instructions. Seek review for spreading redness, heat, foul drainage, or wound opening.
- Eating and bowel habitsTap for details
Unless restricted, take fluids regularly and advance fiber gradually. Constipation is common with pain medicines — ask for a plan. Bloody vomit or black stools need urgent care.
- Work, sport, and drivingTap for details
Driving, heavy sport, and return to work depend on the operation. After abdominal surgery, heavy lifting is usually limited for weeks.
- Emotional recoveryTap for details
Fatigue and mood swings are common. Ask family for help and tell the team if low mood persists.
Educational information only; not a substitute for clinical evaluation. Medical editor: Assoc. Prof. Cengiz Dibekoğlu, MD · Last medically reviewed: August 2026.