After a minor surgical procedure

Short answer

This page is general guidance after a minor surgical procedure. The specific instructions you were given, written or spoken, always take precedence over what is written here. If they differ, follow your own instructions and call the clinic if you are unsure.

Dressing and wound

The wound is covered with a clean dressing that absorbs wound fluid and protects against bacteria from outside. Change the dressing if it becomes wet, bloody or dirty, as this increases the risk of infection. You are usually told how long the dressing should stay on. Using a dressing for longer than recommended does no harm. 1

The wound edges are often slightly red for the first few days. That is normal. 1

Bleeding

If the dressing is bloody, change it for a new, dry, clean one. If it keeps bleeding you can press directly on the wound. 1 If the bleeding does not stop after some minutes of continuous pressure, or you feel unwell, seek urgent help.

Pain

Some discomfort and tenderness is expected in the first days and settles gradually. Ordinary painkillers as directed on the package are usually enough. Contact us if the pain increases instead of easing, or becomes severe.

Activity

Avoid physical activity that stretches or strains the wound, as it can make the wound gape. 1 How long and how much depends on the site and extent of the procedure. That is why we give no fixed number of days here. It is in your own instructions.

Bathing

Follow the instructions you were given about when the wound may get wet. Do not walk around with a wet dressing, and change it if it becomes damp. 1 Avoid baths and swimming pools until you have been told it is all right.

Sutures

If the wound is closed in several layers, the deep sutures are absorbed by the body. Superficial sutures must be removed by a doctor or nurse, and when depends on the area of skin. 1 You will get a specific appointment or instruction for it. Do not remove stitches yourself.

Medication, including blood thinners

Continue your usual medication unless you have been told otherwise. Pausing blood-thinning or diabetes medication must always be agreed individually with the doctor who knows your case, and should not be changed on the basis of general guidance.

Scar

Avoid sun on the scar for the first period. 1 A new scar is often reddish and firm and becomes paler and softer over months.

Expected discomfort

• Mild tenderness and tightness around the wound.
• A little wound fluid in the first days.
• Bruising and mild swelling around the area.
• Itching as the wound heals.
• Slight redness right at the wound edge. 1

Red flags, contact us promptly

Seek medical assessment if you develop:

• Redness spreading out from the wound, or skin that becomes warm.
• Pus from the wound, or a bad smell.
• Increasing rather than decreasing pain.
• Fever or feeling generally unwell.
• Bleeding that cannot be stopped with pressure. 1, 2

With severe pain, fever or marked swelling with widespread redness you should see a doctor promptly. 2

Who to contact

• During clinic opening hours: call the clinic. See contact.
• Outside opening hours in the Capital Region: the acute line 1813. Elsewhere: the local out-of-hours doctor. 3
• For life-threatening symptoms: call 112. 3

Do not use ordinary email for acute symptoms. Email is not monitored as an acute channel.

Related

• Tissue sample and results

Sources

• Wound care after surgery, Patienthåndbogen at sundhed.dk
• Wound infection, Patienthåndbogen at sundhed.dk
• Acute wounds, Patienthåndbogen at sundhed.dk