Home care

• Take your medicine exactly as directed.

• If you smoke, quit. Nicotine slows healing. Join a stop-smoking program to improve your chances of success.

• Remove the small bandages on your incision  24 to 48  hours after the surgery.

• Don’t shower or soak in a bathtub for  1 to 2  days after the surgery.

• Use an ice pack or bag of frozen peas—or something similar—wrapped in a thin towel to reduce the swelling and pain around incision sites. Put the ice pack on the area for  20 minutes, then remove it for  20 minutes. Repeat as needed.

• Wear your brace if you were told to do so by your healthcare provider. And to help stay flexible, bend as much as the brace allows you to.

• For the first  1 to 2 days after the surgery, keep your head raised up when you are lying down.

• Take short walks. Start by walking for  5 minutes at a time. Then gradually build up your time and distance.

• Don’t drive for  2 days after surgery. And never drive while taking opioid pain medicine.

• Ask your healthcare provider when you can start lifting objects again. Ask them about any weight limits for lifting.

Follow-up

Make a follow-up appointment as directed by your healthcare provider.

Call 911

Call 911 right away if you have any of the following:

• Chest pain

• Severe back pain

• Shortness of breath

When to call your healthcare provider

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following:

• Redness, swelling, drainage, or warmth around the incision sites gets worse

• Severe pain at the incision sites

• Weakness, numbness, or tingling in your legs

• Loss of bowel or bladder control

• Difficulty urinating

• Fever of  100.4° F ( 38°C) or higher, or as directed by your healthcare provider

• Shaking chills