After your cancer surgery

What happens after your surgery depends on the type of ​anaesthetic​ and operation you had. It also depends on your general health and how well you recover.

After an anaesthetic

You have an anaesthetic before you have an operation. This stops you from feeling anything during surgery, especially pain. Types of anaesthetic include a:

• local anaesthetic to numb a small part of your body 

• regional anaesthetic to numb a large area or larger part of your body

• general anaesthetic so you are asleep during the operation

Your ​anaesthetist​ may give you sedation as well as a local or regional anaesthetic. This helps you relax. It means you are awake during the operation but might feel sleepy. With an anaesthetic to numb part of your body, you shouldn’t feel any pain. But you may feel pressure where you are having the surgery.

You normally go to the recovery area after the operation if you had:

• sedation

• regional anaesthetic

• general anaesthetic

You stay there until you are well enough to go back to the ward.

If you only had a local anaesthetic, you can normally go straight back to the ward and not to the recovery area. And you might be able to go home soon after.

Waking up after a general anaesthetic

People vary in how they feel after a general anaesthetic. 

You are likely to be sleepy. Exactly how sleepy, and how quickly you recover, depends on the type of operation. It also depends on what anaesthetic medicines you have had and how long you were asleep for.

Some people feel fine but others feel:

• groggy

• cold

• sick

• a bit confused

• anxious

• tearful

In the recovery area

While you are in the recovery area the nurses regularly check:

• your blood pressure, pulse, breathing rate, the amount of oxygen in your blood – these are called observations

• your wound for any bleeding

• any pain is controlled and you are comfortable

• how much fluid is draining from your wound drains

• how much urine is draining if you have a ​catheter​

• that any numbness is wearing off if you had a regional anaesthetic

You might be in the recovery area for a few hours after your operation. This depends on the operation you’ve had and how well you are recovering. If you have had a large operation, you may be in the recovery room a long time. It's quite common for people not to remember being there.

When your anaesthetist or recovery nurse are happy that you are well enough, you will be taken back to the ward.

Going back to the ward

What type of ward you go back to, depends on what operation you have had and your general health. It might be:

• the day surgery unit

• an inpatient ward

• the high dependency unit (HDU)

• the intensive care unit - this might also be called the intensive therapy unit or ITU

Day surgery unit

If you are due to go home the same day as your operation, you are normally admitted to the day surgery unit. You usually go back there after surgery.

Your nurse carries on checking you when you get back to the unit. How long you have checks for depends on what operation you have had and how well you are recovering. They will also encourage you to eat and drink.

You may be able to go home soon after you get back to the unit if you have had a small operation and are feeling well. Or you may need to stay for longer if you’ve had a larger operation or are taking longer to recover.

When your nurses are happy that you are well enough, they will help you up and to get dressed.

You can normally go home when:

• any pain and sickness is controlled

• you can drink

• you are able to walk around

• you feel well enough to go home

• there is no bleeding from your wound

• you have passed urine – this depends on what operation you have had

After day surgery

You normally need a friend or relative to collect you from the hospital. And you need to have a responsible adult at home with you for 24 hours if you’ve had a general anaesthetic or sedation. This is because the anaesthetic is still in your body. During the first 24 hours after you go home you should not:

• make any important decisions or sign any important paperwork

• cook or operate machinery

• drive – your nurse will tell you when you can start driving again

• go back to work

• be the main carer for children or others that need your help

• drink alcohol

• take sleeping tablets

You stay overnight on an inpatient ward if you are not well enough to go home the same day.

Sometimes you may be able to go home the same day even if you were going to be staying in hospital. This depends on what operation you’ve had and how well you are recovering. Your surgeon and anaesthetist will talk with you about this. Tell them if you have concerns or if you don’t think it will be possible.

Inpatient ward

You normally go back to an inpatient ward if you need to stay in hospital for one night or more.

On the ward your nurses carry on checking you regularly. This includes your:

• observations

• wound

• any tubes and drains you have

• pain is controlled

They check you less often as you recover. 

Your doctor will see you regularly on the ward. A specialist nurse may visit you if you have had major surgery or have other health conditions. They look after people who need extra checks but do not need to be in HDU or ITU.

HDU

Some people may go to the HDU if they need more monitoring after surgery. This might be after a major operation or if they have other health conditions such as heart problems.

You may know before surgery that you will go back to the HDU. But sometimes the surgeon and anaesthetist decide during the operation. This may be if the surgery took longer than planned. Or if it was more complicated than they thought it was going to be.

You normally have a nurse looking after you and one other patient in the HDU. You go back to the general inpatient ward once you have recovered enough.

ITU

Sometimes your surgeon and anaesthetist want to keep you asleep after the operation. This is to help you recover. You will be cared for in the ITU until they feel you are well enough to be woken up. You normally go straight back to ITU from the operating theatre.

You may know before your operation that you will go back to the ITU. But sometimes you might wake up in ITU when you were not expecting it. This is because your surgeon and anaesthetist decided during the operation that this was best for you. They will talk to you about why you went to ITU when you are awake enough.

You have one to one nursing care in ITU. You may go to HDU when you are awake and well enough. Sometimes the ITU and HDU are together so you do not need to move.

Tubes and drains

You normally have an oxygen mask on your mouth and nose when you wake up. Your nurse checks your oxygen levels regularly. They might swap the mask for a thin tube with prongs if your oxygen levels are high enough. The prongs go just up inside your nose.

You might also have several tubes in you. This depends on what surgery you had. You don't always need all these drips and tubes. But you might have:

• drips to give you fluids, medicines and sometimes ​blood transfusions​ - electronic pumps may control how fast these go into your bloodstream

• wound drains - these drain any blood or fluid from the operation area

• a catheter in your ​bladder​ to measure how much urine you pass

• a fine tube into your back (epidural) to give you painkillers

• a tube down your nose into your stomach (nasogastric tube) to drain bile and stop you feeling sick

Pain relief after surgery

Pain can usually be very well controlled after surgery. Tell your nurse if you don’t think your painkillers are working well enough.

Painkillers make you more comfortable. They also help you to move around easier and breathe deeply. This helps prevent complications which helps recovery. Pain will gradually get better as your wound heals.

Your doctors and nurses give you painkillers as:

• tablets

• liquid

• a ​suppository​

• an injection into a muscle

• an injection straight into your bloodstream through a cannula – you might have this in the recovery area

• an injection of anaesthetic into nearby nerves - this is called a nerve block

Or you might have painkillers in other ways.

Patient controlled analgesia (PCA)

You might have painkillers through a drip into your blood stream. This is normally through a pump called a patient controlled analgesia (PCA) machine. Morphine and fentanyl are common painkillers to have through a PCA. They are a type of medicine called an ​opioid​ . Having a PCA means you can control the painkillers yourself.

The pump is attached to your bloodstream with a drip. You press a button and the pump gives you a small amount of painkiller. The pump then locks for several minutes. When the pump unlocks you can press it again.

Your nurse will show you how to use the PCA. They will regularly check:

• how often you are using it

• that it is controlling your pain

• that you are not having any side effects

Epidural

You can have an epidural to give you painkillers after your operation. This is normally for major surgery to your tummy (abdomen) and chest.

Your anaesthetist puts a thin tube called a catheter into your back. It goes into an area called the epidural space. This is where the nerves that go to your lower body are. You can have an epidural in your lower (lumbar) or middle (thoracic) back. This depends on what operation you are having.

A pump is connected to the catheter. This gives you a constant small amount of painkiller and local anaesthetic. This stops the pain and has a numbing effect. Sometimes the pump has a button so you can control the painkiller yourself like a PCA.

The epidural can make your abdomen and chest feel numb. And your legs may feel numb and weak. Tell your nurse if you cannot move your legs. These feelings normally wear off a few hours after the epidural is stopped. You shouldn’t try and get up on your own until the epidural has worn off.

While you have the epidural, your nurse regularly checks:

• your blood pressure, pulse and breathing rate

• your leg movements

• where the numbness is on your body

Local anaesthetic infusion

Your surgeon may give you an injection of local anaesthetic around the wound at the end of the operation. Sometimes they may put a very thin catheter under the skin near the wound instead. This is called a wound infusion.

The catheter may be connected to a small pump. This gives you a constant amount of local anaesthetic into the wound. Or the local anaesthetic may be injected into the catheter when needed.

Some people may have an infusion of local anaesthetic near the nerves in their abdomen. This is called a rectus sheath infusion. The catheter is put near a muscle in the abdomen called the rectus abdominus. This is more commonly known as the ‘six pack’. The local anaesthetic blocks the nerves to the wall of the abdomen and controls the pain.

You might have a wound or rectus sheath infusion after surgery on your abdomen or chest.

Your wound

The size and position of your wound depends on what type of surgery you have had. Sometimes you may have more than one. There are also different ways your surgeon can close the wound after the operation.

Wound closure

The size and position of your wound depends on what type of surgery you have had. Sometimes you may have more than one. There are also different ways your surgeon can close the wound after the operation.

Wound closure

Your surgeon might close the wound with:

• stitches

• surgical clips – these look like staples

• surgical glue

• steristrips – these are sticky dressing strips. They are also called butterfly stitches

Stitches either dissolve on their own or need to be removed. If they need removing, your nurse will tell you when to get them taken out. You may need to make an appointment with the practice nurse at your GP surgery to have them removed. Or you may have to go back to the hospital.

Your nurse will tell you what type of wound closure you have before you go home.

Dressings

You normally have a dressing over stitches or clips. Your nurse usually removes it a couple of days after the operation. They only put another dressing on if you need it. 

If you have small wounds, your surgeon might put surgical glue or steristrips on them. This might be after a ​biopsy​ or keyhole (laparoscopic) surgery. They don't normally put a dressing on top of glue. But they may put a dressing on top of steristrips.

Your surgeon may put a bandage dressing on the wound if it:

• is in an area where it’s difficult to keep the dressing on, such as your head

• needs to be wrapped tightly - this is called a compression dressing. This might be after surgery to remove an arm or a leg (amputation) for bone cancer

Or they may use a plaster of Paris cast if you had surgery for bone cancer but didn’t have an amputation.

Your nurse will tell you how to look after the dressing or wound before you go home.

Eating and drinking after your operation

When you can eat and drink again depends on the type of operation you had. Your doctor or nurse will tell you when you can start. But most people can eat and drink the same day, if they feel well enough.

You might need to start with sips of water when you are fully awake and then build up. Your nurse will tell you when and what you can eat and drink. If you have had a large operation, they might give you energy drinks to help your recovery.

Your bowel can stop working for a while after surgery on your abdomen. This is called ileus. You won’t be able to eat or drink until it starts working again. Having open surgery or a long operation is a risk factor for ileus.

You can tell when your bowel is working again as you will be able to pass wind and have a poo. You need to build up very slowly to eating and drinking after having ileus.

Getting up and about

How quickly you can get out of bed and move around depends on the type of operation you had. For most operations you get up the same day or the next day. Your nurse and physiotherapist tell you when you can get up. They'll help you if you can't move around easily by yourself or if you have drains and drips.

It's good to get moving as soon as possible. This:

• helps you recover

• reduces the chance of problems such as chest infections and blood clots

• helps your bowel to work

It is much easier to get around after any drips, drains and catheter have been taken out. That’s when you’ll start to feel like you are making progress.

Going home

How long you need to stay in hospital depends on the type of operation you had and how quickly you recover.

You can usually go home when:

• your observations are normal for you

• any pain and sickness is controlled

• you are able to poo – some people may have a ​stoma​ after surgery to their bowel

• you can eat and drink

• you are able to pee

• your wound is clean and dry

Depending on what operation they have had and how they recover, some people may go home:

• with a catheter to help them pee

• before their wound is clean and dry

• with a drain in their wound

• having food through a tube into their abdomen or bloodstream

• with injections to help stop blood clots

If this happens, your nurse or a member of your healthcare team show you how to look after these. They might also arrange for someone to visit you at home to check you are ok with them. Or to help you if you cannot look after them yourself. This is normally a district or community nurse.

If you’ve had a big operation, your physio will usually see you before you go home. This is to check you can walk around and climb stairs safely before you go home.

An occupational therapist (OT) may also see you. They help you find ways to do everyday tasks if you can’t do them as easily after surgery.

Before you go home your healthcare team will give you any:

• medication you need to take at home

• dressings or equipment you need

• letters to give to your GP or district nurse

• written information about the operation

Questions to ask

Your doctors and nurses tell you what to expect when you leave hospital. But you might want to ask them:

• who to contact if you have any problems

• if your stitches or clips need to be removed

• when you can bath or shower

• how active you can be – for example can you lift, do housework, go to the gym?

• to explain any exercises you need to do

• when you can start driving again

• when you can go back to work

• when you can have sex again

• when to expect a follow up appointment

• any other questions you have

At home

You need to give yourself time to get over the surgery. You might find that you tire easily and need to rest during the day at first. It can take several weeks to a few months to fully recover from a major operation.

It can help if you have prepared a few things before you go into hospital

Read more about preparing for cancer surgery

Surgery for your cancer type

Surgery is different for each cancer type. You can find more detailed information about what happens during and after surgery on our cancer type pages.

Choose a cancer type from our A to Z list