Surgery - Pain Management

To determine and monitor pain levels, nursing staff may ask you to rate your pain on a scale of 0 to 10. Refer to figure 1.

You may feel some pain even with medication. It is important to tell the nursing staff if the medication does not reduce your pain level, or if your pain level increases. This may indicate that your pain medication needs adjusting.

Having adequate pain relief is important because it:

  • Enables you to perform your exercises effectively
  • Can speed up recovery
  • Improves your ability to rest

Wound Care

Your wound must stay clean and dry until it fully heals. This means that you will need to cover your wound with plastic bags or covers when showering.

Figure 1: Pain scale