POST-OPERATIVE INSTRUCTIONS FOR SCROTAL SURGERY

DIET:

You may return to your normal diet within twenty-four hours following your surgery. You may note some mild nausea and possibly vomiting the first six to eight hours following surgery. This is usually due to the side effects of anesthesia, and will disappear quite soon. I would suggest clear liquids and a very light meal the first evening following surgery.

ACTIVITY:

Your physical activity should be restricted the first forty-eight hours. During that time you should remain relatively inactive, moving about only when necessary. During the first 7 to 10 days following surgery you should avoid lifting any heavy objects (anything greater than fifteen pounds), and avoid strenuous exercise. If you work, ask us specifically about your restrictions, both for home and work. We will write a note to your employer if needed.

You should plan to wear a tight pair of jockey shorts or an athletic support for the first 4-5 days, even to sleep. This will keep the scrotum immobilized to some degree and keep the swelling down.

Ice packs should be placed on and off over the scrotum for the first 48 hours. Frozen peas or corn in a ZipLoc bag can be frozen, used and re-frozen. 15 minutes on and 15 minutes off is a reasonable schedule. The ice is a good pain reliever and keeps the swelling down.

WOUND:

In most cases your incision will have absorbable sutures that will dissolve within the first 10-20 days. Some will fall out even earlier. Expect some redness as the sutures dissolve but this should occur only around the sutures. If there is generalized redness, especially with increasing pain or swelling, let us know. The scrotum will very likely get 'black and blue' as the blood in the tissues spread. Sometimes the whole scrotum will turn colors. The black and blue is followed by a yellow and brown color. In time, all this coloration will go away.

HYGIENE:

You may shower 48 hours after surgery. No tub bathing or swimming for 7 days after surgery.

MEDICATION:

You will be sent home with some type of pain medication. In many cases you will be sent home with a narcotic pain pill ( Vicodin or Percocet). If the pain is not too bad, you may take either Tylenol (acetaminophen) or Advil (ibuprofen) which contain no narcotic agents, and might be tolerated a little better, with fewer side effects. If the pain medication you are sent home with does not control the pain, you will have to let us know. Some narcotic pain medications cannot be given or refilled by a phone call to a pharmacy.

PROBLEMS YOU SHOULD REPORT TO US: A: Fever or 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit.