Don’t you just love it when a surgeon and his staff go the extra mile for their patients? Look for a surgeon where each surgery patient goes home with a “Goodie Bag,” A goodie bag contains everything a recovering patient needs to get through the first few weeks after their procedure.
1. The pills
The Goodie Bag should have pain medications (Percocet). No, not a prescription! The actual pills. The doctor’s office can include an extra written prescription in case the patient needs just a little more pain management after surgery, but the initial supply of pain medications should be right there in the bag. Additionally, they should include anti-nausea medications for those patients who are sensitive to opioids. This way, there’s no need to stop by the pharmacy on the way home from surgery. Patients can just head home and get some rest.
2. The garments
Right after the procedure, the patient is typically dressed in a post-surgical garment to preserve the surgery. However, the Goodie Bag should contain a second garment so that the patient can alternate between washing and wearing them. For my patients, I suggest our patients wear their garments for at least a month after surgery, so having two of them is useful. Plus, the last thing we want is for our patients to be wearing dirty garments after their surgery! The only time the patient takes off the garments are while showering.
3. The scar cream
Doctors want those incisions to be as invisible as the patients do! The Goodie Bag should contain Silagen scar refining cream. It is a 100% pure silicone gel that will help flatten, soften and smooth scars, while reducing redness, discoloration, itching and pain. It also increases hydration to provide an optimal environment to normalize collagen production. We personally advise our patients that they can start applying this gel two weeks after their surgery to help minimize the appearance of their surgical incisions.
4. The instructions
Lastly, but most importantly, the patient should go home with specific instructions regarding their procedure. It may be hard to remember all the instructions given by the staff and surgeon after waking up from anesthesia. So it’s best if it’s all written out for the patient and family. It should have the date and time of the patient’s first postoperative follow up appointment.
What’s in your Goodie Bag?!
The recovery time after surgery isn’t the easiest or most pleasant experience. But hopefully these little things can make a difference!
Written by Jan Paula Ramiro @japsiecam
