Caring for a patient after surgery is serious business, regardless of the type of procedure. It is important to follow all of the instructions provided by the patient’s healthcare team. This guide can help parents prepare for what to expect after surgery and should never replace the patient’s physician’s at-home care instructions. Show Once a patient is stabilized after surgery he or she will be released to go home or will be transferred to an inpatient room.Patients heading home will be provided a discharge plan. Discharge plans are tailored to each patient depending upon his or her age, condition, medical history and procedure. This plan may include instructions on how to take care of the wound dressings, what medications to take, what your child should and should not eat that day; what activities the child may participate in over the next few days, weeks, or months; and signs that you should call your child’s doctor. It is very
important that caregivers follow all of the discharge instructions exactly as they are written, even if the patient appears to be feeling better or seems ready to return to normal activities. Patients should take all medications exactly as ordered by the doctor. All pain medications should be taken with food as they may make the child nauseous if taken on an empty stomach. Other medications, like antibiotics, may have their own dosing instructions. The patient’s nurse or pharmacist can explain
how to take the medications and for how long.
Download and print the discharge questions worksheet that can be filled out while speaking with the patient’s nurse or doctor. Whether the patient is sent home from the hospital or to one of the inpatient units, caregivers will be provided with all of the information necessary to care for the child at home. Caregivers will receive a phone call from a CHOC nurse within 72 hours of the patient’s discharge from the hospital. During this call, our nurse will ask about how the child is feeling and be able to answer any questions about the discharge instructions. During the first 24 hours after surgery, patients may have some or all of the following symptoms:
Watch for and report these complications to the patient’s surgeon:
If you are unable to reach the child’s physician, please go to the nearest emergency room. In life threatening situations, call 911. Misplaced your child’s surgeon’s phone number? After a surgery or procedure, there may be physical causes of pain, but the sensation of pain also depends on complex mental and emotional factors. Determining the level of pain a child is experiencing can be very challenging, especially if the child is very young or has delayed verbal skills. The surgical team may use a scale of 0 to 10 or illustrations of faces to help describe pain. Our doctors and nurses can typically determine what is usual discomfort for a certain operation and give the prescribed medication; however, we know that the best expert on a child is the parent or guardian. If the patient is unusually agitated or withdrawn, caregivers should let us know so we can assess the effectiveness of the prescribed medication. The child’s surgeon will discuss the need for medications at home before and after surgery. If the patient will require opioid pain-relief medication, caregivers will be given these prescriptions before the patient is discharged to go home. Over the counter medications, like acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil) may be recommended, instead of prescriptions pain medicines. The surgeon will provide information on the correct dosage. Surgery patients should never take aspirin. When taking pain medication, patients may experience dizziness or drowsiness. Pain medications can also cause constipation. We recommend that patients increase the fluids (especially water) and fiber in their diets. Some physicians may also recommend the child take a stool softener. Adolescent and young adult patients should not drive or consume alcohol while on pain medications. Learn more about pain management after surgery. It is natural to feel nervous about caring for a patient’s surgical wound. At the time of discharge, a nurse will provide instructions on how to care for any drains and/or bandages. These instructions will also be available in the patient’s discharge plans.
Which action would the nurse take before administering a tube feeding to an infant?Correct placement of the tube should be confirmed prior to administration of an enteral feed by checking insertion site at the abdominal wall and observing the child for abdominal pain or discomfort.
What procedure should a nurse use when elevating the head of an infant in a spica cast?Using the bedpan
Elevate your child's head and shoulders with pillows when he/she is placed on the bedpan. This will help prevent urine from running backward and inside the cast. A gauze or cloth pad or a small folded towel placed on the back rim of a bedpan will absorb any moisture and help keep the cast dry.
Which is the recommended protein intake for preschoolers quizlet?The recommended protein intake for preschoolers is 13 to 19 g/day.
Which food group has the lowest level of sodium?Which food group has the lowest level of sodium compared with the other food groups? Fresh fruit has the overall lowest sodium content compared with the other food groups.
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