It is absolutely essential to stay fully hydrated post-surgery. This is done to avoid potential surgical complications, including vein thrombosis, which is a clot that is built up in the major veins of the thighs and legs. The patient can also suffer from pulmonary embolism.
Most people need to drink around 2L of fluid per day to achieve this1, however this is not the same for everyone, and is not the same for each individual day to day either.
Speeds the Healing Process
Great nutritional intake is never more important than when recovering from surgery. Drinking water helps the healing process by speeding nutrient transport through the bloodstream and throughout your body.
Hydration helps with healing, and water is the best fluid we can consume for hydration. While you're recovering from weight-loss surgery, avoid sodas and other sugary drinks or fruit juices, which can't hydrate like water can and often carry added sugar and calories.
Surgical stress, nausea and hypoglycaemia stimulate the secretion of ADH and therefore also trigger the sensation of thirst.
Anesthetic drugs can stay in your system for up to 24 hours. If you've had sedation or regional or general anesthesia, you shouldn't return to work or drive until the drugs have left your body. After local anesthesia, you should be able to resume normal activities, as long as your healthcare provider says it's okay.
General guidance is that you should avoid alcohol for at least 2 weeks after your surgery. In some cases, you will have either fully healed or been through the majority of the recovery process. For others, this may not be enough time.
This is because your wound should not be soaked in water until it's healed. It could cause the skin to soften and reopen the wound. Guidelines published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) say you can have a shower 48 hours after surgery.
When it's cleared by the doctor or dentist who performed the procedure, drinking plenty of water is a good way to increase elimination (read: urination), which helps flush waste out of the body. However, there is not an evidence-based way to flush anesthesia out of your system.
For people recovering from injury or surgery, proper hydration is important to the success of physical therapy. Water flushes toxins out of the body, transports nutrients into the cells and helps regulate body temperature and pH balance. Water also helps with muscle soreness and tension.
First and foremost, drink plenty of water! Water serves a lot of functions in the body and will be particularly good to reduce swelling after surgery.
Sweating, such as through a sauna, is a great way to excrete toxins. For the two weeks after surgery, take a sauna a few times if permitted by your doctor. Make sure to wash the toxins off of your skin after the sauna by showering and washing your body with a castile soap.
Dehydration after bariatric surgery is a serious problem and is common enough that doctors actively warn against it. Many bariatric surgery patients find it hard to get enough water, and as a result, they end up experiencing signs of dehydration and surgery.
Long format surgery may take 6-12 hours, is it safe to be “under” for this long? Sometimes it is recommended to undertake several plastic surgery procedures during one session. This is known as a long format surgery, which may take anywhere from 6-12 hours in duration.
Postoperative intravenous maintenance fluid therapy ensures adequate organ perfusion, prevents catabolism, ensures electrolyte- and pH-balance, and may be all that is required for patients who undergo surgical procedures that do not significantly alter the hemodynamic milieu.
3.1. Dehydration. The proportion of dehydrated patients at surgery was 20.4% (37/181 patients, 95% CI: 14.8–27.1%).
Aim to walk every 1 or 2 hours during the day. Work with your care team to set goals for walking.
Benefits of early ambulation after surgery:
Walking improves blood flow which aids in quicker wound healing. The gastrointestinal, genitourinary, pulmonary and urinary tract functions are all improved by walking.
Following surgery it is generally advisable to avoid drinking alcohol for at least two weeks, and even then only after you have finished taking pain medication and any antibiotics you were prescribed by your consultant.
Reasons to not drink after a surgery
Drinking alcohol widens your blood vessels which can cause swelling. This may cause complications post procedure. For example, if you have a tummy tuck and you drink after the procedure this will cause the area to swell causing pain on and around the wound.
It is never a good idea to drive yourself home from surgery, as anesthesia can slow reflexes, slow your thought processes, and can even cause amnesia in the hours following surgery. In fact, you should refrain from driving for the first 24 to 48 hours after receiving anesthesia.
After surgery, anesthesia stays in the body for a short period. Drinking plenty of water can help flush the anesthesia from the system. During recovery, many people also take pain medications that can cause constipation. Water helps the digestive system work more efficiently, reducing this uncomfortable side effect.
How long does post-surgical fatigue last? There is no set time limit on how long post-surgical fatigue lasts. This is because different procedures have varying effects on your body. The more intensive the surgical procedure is, the longer your recovery time will be, including the exhaustion you're feeling.