Appendix removal?

My boyfriend started
having stomach pains last night (Saturday), and I took him into the hospital
today around 1:30pm. They admitted him right away and found out he had
appendicitis. They removed his appendix around 8:30pm and said that he should be
able to come home tomorrow. I have a few questions about aftercare, ect. (Of
course, I will ask the doctor, I just want to know what other people had to do,
ect).

*What do we do to clean the incisions?
*How long should I tell his work he will be off for?
*Will he be able to eat regular food?
*Do they normally put people on antibiotics afterwards? I'm assuming they will
definitely be giving him pain killers...
*What is the average recovery time if there are/were no complications?
Hi! I just got mine out on Tuesday morning and I got to go home on Wednesday in
the afternoon. It's a LOT of fun!

I got it done laparoscopically and they had a gauze patch and then a like clear
sticker/tape thing and then under that there was like little mini-coverings
(forget what they are called, they are thin and white/clear). Basically they
told me to take the outer bandages off 1-2 days after release, and then the
under-bandages should probably fall off in 5-7 days. It's day 5 currently and
one has fallen of, while the other 2 are kind of half off. They said I didn't
really need to clean them, but I'm sure something like Neosporin would do
damage. The only real instructions they gave me was to shower facing away from
the water flow.

As for taking time off, I am starting back again tomorrow, but the doctor had a
note for my school (I'm a junior) that it would be either tomorrow or Tuesday,
so I would probably go with about a week, but everyone's times are different. If
his wasn't laparoscopically, it will probably be longer. I was walking pretty
well immediately (at least the nurses said).

The hospital started me on clear liquids and foods and I couldn't keep anything
down for about 10 hours (we think it was the anesthesia) but after that it got
increasingly better. Next they did 'bland' things. Like sick-people food
basically. Broth, bread, crackers, fruits... Nothing really rich or anything
like that. Once I got home, not a lot of food really looked good, which they
said was actually normal. They told me to stay away from things that are spicy
and/or greasy, because they will be hard on the intestines.

They gave me an antibiotic (It's huge! Like a horse pill!) and some pain
killers. The pain killers are basically the equivalent to a double Vicoden plus
an Ibuprofen... mine at least. I'm off the pain killers now, but I still have
like another week of antibiotics I think.

I think average recovery is about a week. I've been feeling pretty good today,
and while I'm definitely not normal yet, I feel pretty good. I'm hoping by next
week that the physical incisions will be basically all that's left of the whole
ordeal...

Hope I could help and good luck with this whole thing!
More than likely the doctor is not going to want him to clean the incisions with
alcohol or full-strength hydrogen peroxide. The doctor may even order soap and
water to clean.

He will likely get antibiotics. He may even get more than one antibiotic to
take.

Probably no lifting for at least 2 weeks. After 2 weeks he will get a weight
limit for another few weeks. Maybe even up to six weeks of restrictions. The
doctor will probably give him seven days from work.

He won't be released from the hospital until his digestive tract is up an
running. Clear liquid diet (jello, broth, apple juice) at first, then he will be
advanced to soft food. He may be released while on a soft diet. Soft diet means
soup, mash, well-cooked veggies, softened meat, lots of fluids plus jello, ice
cream, pudding. Soft diet allows the body to not work so hard at digesting food.


He also won't be released until he's urinating.
Wow, they're discharging people earlier and earlier these days. I'm almost 25
and I had mine removed when I was 11. Mine ruptured and I ended up being in the
hospital for 2 weeks and missed 2 months of school. I had a silver dollar sized
hole in my lower abdomen that had to heal from the inside out. I also had a
classmate the week before this all occurred have her's removed with no problems.
She was back to school within the week and was fine. As with any incision you
clean with a dab of alcohol here and there and cover the stitches up with a gaze
pad and some bandage tape. Usually you can go back to eating normal within a few
days. I was only on antibiotics because I had a wound that had to heal from the
inside out. He shouldn't need them unless he gets a fever and they suspect
infection. I didn't get pain killers once I was sent home but I did have that
nifty morphine drip while I was in the hospital. Tell him good luck.
Hi,It depends on wether he had a Laprascopic operation or a conventional type
operation,if he had the lap surgery it is very neat and you don't get to many
infections or problems and he will possibly be off work for 2 or 3 weeks,eat
soft and easily digested food and maybe antibiotics for a week,the old way you
have stitches and chance infections and be off for maybe 4 weeks.Hope this
helps.Goodluck.
All great questions, but they are patient/situation dependent and only the
surgeon can provide you with guidance with your b/f's particular case.

I wish you both well.