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Recovery Room
- When a patient wakes up in the recovery
room following surgery, he or she will feel
tired and groggy.
- Nurses monitor the patient
closely while in the recovery room.
- While
in the recovery room, the patient is given
oxygen. Most likely it will be administered
through small plastic tubing that is placed
at the opening of the patient’s
nose.
- A small electrode, similar to a
band-aid is placed on one of the patient’s
fingers. This electrode measures the
oxygen concentration of a patient’s
red blood cells. It tells us how well
the patient is exchanging oxygen and
carbon dioxide. If his or her level
is too low, an alarm will sound. The
patient is encouraged to breath deeper
and with more chest expansion.
- Patients
are connected to an EKG monitor by patch
electrodes placed at specific locations
across the chest and upper body area.
This monitors the heart rhythm.
- An automatic
blood pressure cuff will checks the patient’s
blood pressure frequently. The patient
might experience a tightening and releasing
of the arm where this is placed.
- The IV
infusion will continue.
- For pain management,
a patient controlled analgesic device
(PCA) is used. This medication is infused
through an IV. The patient has control
of a button they can push to deliver pain
medicine through the IV line.
- If the patient
uses a face mask or device for treatment
of sleep apnea, he or she will be asked
to bring this to the hospital. This will
be used in the recovery room and throughout
the patient’s hospital stay
while he or she is sleeping.
- Patients
will have some tubes attached to the
body.
- During surgery, the doctors may place
a drain on the side of the abdomen. This
is called a Jackson Pratt (JP) drain. This
drain helps to eliminate the collection
of fluid in the abdomen. It also helps
the bariatric team know if the patient
is healing normally. A patient may go home
with a drain and will be instructed on
appropriate drain care.
- A Foley catheter
is placed during surgery. This catheter
empties the contents of the bladder.
This allows for precise measurement of
the urinary output and is removed the day
after surgery.
- Patients may have a nasogastric
tube. This tube goes from
the nose into the stomach. It is important
because it drains gases and juices from
the stomach. If you have a nasogastric
tube, it will be removed one or two days
after surgery in most cases.
- The patient’s legs
are wrapped around the calf area with
alternating pressure devices. This action decreases
blood from pooling in the lower extremity
and developing a blood clot. These stockings
will be applied when the patient is in bed.
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