After hairy cell leukaemia surgery

You wake up in the recovery area next to the operating theatres.

At first you’ll be wearing a mask or have small tubes into your nose (nasal cannulae) to give you oxygen. You might feel dizzy and sluggish to begin with.

You have a blood pressure cuff on your arm and a little clip on your finger to measure your pulse and oxygen level.

Once you are more awake, your nurse will take you back to the ward. They will measure your blood pressure and check your dressings regularly.

Some people may need to spend a day or two in the high dependency unit (HDU) to recover after the operation. Your surgeon or anaesthetist will talk to you before your operation if they think this is likely.

Tubes and drains

When you wake up, you may have some tubes going into your body.

You might have:

• a drip (intravenous infusion) to give you blood transfusions or fluids until you are eating and drinking again
• wound drains to stop blood and fluid collecting around the area
• a tube into your bladder to collect urine

If you have wound drains, they will stay in until they stop draining fluid. This might be about 2 to 5 days after your operation.

Painkillers

It’s normal to have pain for the first week or so. You have painkillers to help.

Tell your doctor or nurse as soon as you feel any pain. They need your help to find the right type and dose of painkiller for you. Painkillers work best when you take them regularly.

Immediately after surgery you might have painkillers through a drip into the bloodstream that you control. This is called patient controlled analgesia (PCA). Analgesia is another word for painkillers. 

Or you might have painkillers through a small thin tube that is put into your back. This tube connects to a pump that gives you a constant dose of painkillers. This is called an epidural.

You get painkillers to take home. Follow the instructions your nurse gives you about how often and when to take them. Contact your doctor if you still have pain or if it gets worse.

Your wound

The wound you have depends on the type of operation you had.

You usually have 3 or 4 small wounds in your abdomen if you had keyhole (laparoscopic) surgery. After open surgery, you have a single wound in your upper abdomen.

Your nurse keeps a close eye on your wound after your operation and keeps it clean. You might have stitches that gradually dissolve. So you don't need to have them taken out.

 Or you might have stitches that have to come out after 7 to 10 days. You might have them taken out:

• at home by a district nurse
• in your GP practice
• in hospital

Before you go home your nurse gives you information about how to care for your wound or wounds.

Eating and drinking

Your nurse takes your drip out as soon as you can start eating and drinking again.

You can often drink and eat as soon as you feel up to it. This may be later the same day or on the day after your operation. Your nurse will tell you when you can start eating and drinking.

You might find that you have less of an appetite for a week or two after surgery. 

Getting up

Your nurses help you to get up and move around gently as soon as possible. This might be later the same day or the day after your operation. This helps you to get better and reduces the risk of complications, such as chest infections or blood clots.

Going home

You normally go home within 2 to 7 days. You might be able to go home after only a couple of days if you had keyhole surgery.

Everyone recovers at their own pace and your doctors make sure you are ready before you go home.

Exercise

Exercise is good for you when you're recovering from surgery. But you need to take it gently at first.

Start with walking slowly for short distances. Gradually build up the amount you walk over days and weeks. It can help you to feel better and recover more quickly.

Follow up

You have follow up appointments to check your recovery and sort out any problems. They are also your opportunity to raise any concerns you have about your progress.

You usually see your surgical team about 6 weeks after you go home.

Your doctor will let you know at your follow up appointment when they think you might be able to go back to work or start driving again.

Helping protect your immune system

The spleen is part of your immune system and helps to fight infection. Without a spleen you are more at risk of infection.

To help prevent infection in the future, you have some vaccinations before, or just after, the operation.

You need to take antibiotics for the rest of your life because of these changes to your immune system.