You've just had surgery - or what physicians sometimes call "controlled trauma." Your body is in the process of healing and you should be well aware of the symptoms you will be experiencing over the next few days.
But what if you're experiencing things that aren't part of the normal healing process. How will you know? The simple answer is that it's not your job to know. Call your surgeon anytime you're unsure about anything. You should have been given a way to contact your surgeon 24-7 during the post-operative period. Don't feel that you're being a bother - your doctor is expecting your call.
If you feel you need to go to an emergency room, or if your physican directs you to go to an emergency room, do not forget to take both your medications with you as well as your physician's contact info. That information is essential to the emergency department staff and will help them help you.
Some things that should prompt you to call your physician:
- Bleeding or pus at an incision site or from the nipples.
- Foul odor emanating from an incision site.
- Red and tender skin around an incision site rapidly extending with time.
- Pain that is not alleviated by the analgesic medication your physician prescribed.
- Deflation or displacement of an implant or extrusion of an implant out of an incision site.
- Bottoming out of the implant.
- Difficulty or inability to urinate or pass stools.
- Fever greater than 101 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Blood in your urine or feces.
- Uncontrollable vomiting.
- Spitting up blood.
- Rapidly progressing swelling or color change (swelling and bruising are expected, the operative word here is 'rapidly').
A final piece of advice: always err on the side of caution.
