What does day surgery mean? It means that once in the hospital, you are operated on and returned to your home within the day.
“Day surgery today would be able to treat 60% of all surgery. This does not reflect the national state of the art because other assessments take over which change from region to region, ”he explains Roberta Monzani, head of the Surgical Day Hospital of the Humanitas Clinical Institute of Rozzano, Milan.
“Lets perform interventions under local, loco-regional, sedation or general anesthesia.”The advantages of Day Surgery? Lot of. Both preparation for surgery and preoperative fasting time and consequently postoperative recovery are reduced to a minimum. After the surgery, the period of hospitalization within the walls of the home is about 30% shorter than that in the hospital, also thanks to a higher mood.
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There is little or no risk of contracting an infection, because you do not remain in contact with other patients and visitors who can carry germs from the outside. It is a danger that should not be underestimated: 6% of eye conjunctivitis, colds and bronchitis and intestinal disorders are “taken” in hospital. But be careful. Day Surgery doesn’t always go well.
“It is not suitable for those suffering from a disease that is not in good compensation, for example diabetes or hypertension”, adds Dr. Monzani. “Therefore, if despite the therapy the pressure values tend to change, or the glycaemia rises, it is better to balance or set up adequate care first and then proceed with surgery, and if it were necessary to provide for a night of hospitalization for prudential purposes” .
You must sleep one night in the hospital even in the case of removal of the tonsils, hemorrhoids or anal fissures, because there is a greater chance of bleeding after the surgery.
There are no particular rules to follow regarding the apartment: you don’t have to revolutionize your bedroom, so to speak. However, try to have a telephone nearby for convenience and in case you need to communicate with the hospital for any problem.
Also, tell your doctor if your house is on two floors and you need to have surgery on your abdomen, legs or feet: they will teach you how to go down and up stairs without pain. “Those who are operated on in the Day Surgery regime are not left to themselves,” Dr. Monzani points out.
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“The medical staff calls the patient home the day after the surgery. Furthermore, both in the days preceding the surgery and at the time of discharge, you receive a sheet detailing how you should behave and which drugs to take to control pain based on your operation “.
The next seven days
The afternoon after the surgery, explains prof. Ovidio Brignoli, Vice President of the Italian Society of General Practitioners, the doctor of the Day Surgery will call you to find out how you are. Tell them exactly what your state of health is, without exaggerating or amplifying the intensity of the symptoms. Then ask for confirmation of the day on which the check was scheduled. Even if you feel strong, keep in mind that it is a matter of state of mind related to not being in the hospital. Also tell your family doctor that you have undergone an operation in Day Surgery: it is he who can give you the first advice in case of need.
It may be normal to have the fever in the first two days after the intervention: it is a reaction of the organism. Don’t take drugs on your own. Rest, drink and eat normally if there are no special suggestions from the surgeon to follow.
However, warn your doctor, even if it seems like a trivial “low-grade fever” because you have undergone surgery anyway. This is even more true if the fever has “spikes”, that is, it is present only in the morning and in the evening, while the rest of the day you feel good, and it is accompanied by shivers of cold even if you are in a warm environment. Because they could be the first signs of an infection that must be treated with antibiotic therapy.