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Thoracic Surgery & Interventional Pulmonology

Patient Instructions

Help provided for a smooth recovery and to prevent further illness.

Sternotomy Thoracoscopy Esophagectomy Incentive spirometer Contact Us

Sternotomy Discharge Instructions

Surgery can take a lot of strength and energy out of you. You will get tired easily at first, but this will improve slowly and steadily over the next few weeks. For a smooth recovery and to help prevent further illness, follow these tips:

  • Eat well balanced, healthy meals.
  • You will need protein to help you heal. Protein is found in lean meats, chicken, fish, beans and dairy products.
  • Be sure to also eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.
  • If you were on a special diet before your surgery (diabetes, low fat, low cholesterol, low salt, etc.), you should continue that diet at home.
  • You may go out to dinner, shop, do light gardening, cook, or go up and down stairs, as long as you do not have problems doing so.
  • You may continue your usual sexual activities.
  • You probably will not have the energy to be very active, so pace yourself. Rest when you get tired. Stop and catch your breath if you get winded.
  • Relaxation and deep breathing exercises are important to help expand your lungs and to help clear them of mucous. The staff will teach you how to do these exercises to at home.
  • Use your incentive spirometer at home and take 10- 15 breaths an hour with it, while you are awake (you do not need to wake up to do them every hour). Keep using the incentive spirometer until your follow-up visit.
  • Balance exercise with periods of rest until you regain your strength. This can take from 7-14 days. In 4-6 weeks you should be back to full activity and feel more like yourself.
  • Take a couple of short walks outside each day (unless the weather is bad). Walking is excellent exercise. Taking deep breaths while walking will increase your strength.
  • Avoid push-ups, chin-ups, or lifting weights for at least 8-12 weeks. Your muscles need to heal and regain their strength.
  • Be aware of your posture. Stand up straight, shoulders back and stomach in. Use your pain medicine so that you can maintain good posture.
  • Take pain medicine as prescribed. You will have better pain control if you take the medicine at the first sign of pain, rather than waiting until the pain is more severe.
  • Prescriptions for pain medicine usually cannot be phoned to the pharmacy. They must be mailed to you or picked up from our office, so plan ahead for refills when running low on medicine.
  • Do not drive while taking pain medicine.
  • Try to get eight hours of sleep each night. For the first 2-6 weeks after going home, you may have trouble sleeping for more than 3-4 hours at a time. This will get better as you heal and become more active.
  • You can sleep in any position that is comfortable. Some patients need to sleep sitting in an upright position at first. It may be painful to sleep on your side, but it will not hurt your heart or incisions.
  • You can shower as usual.
  • The dressing over the chest tube site should stay in place for 48 hours after going home. When you take off the bandage, shower, pat wounds dry and then place a Band-Aid or piece of dry gauze over the incisions if there is any drainage.
  • As you become more active, there might be some clear yellow fluid from this area. Drainage may continue for up to two weeks. Use a dressing, as needed, to protect your clothes.
  • Leave the steri-strip dressing on. You may take this dressing off after seven days; otherwise it will be removed at your follow-up visit. If staples were used, they will be removed at your follow-up visit.
  • Constipation is sometimes a problem after surgery because anesthesia and pain medicine can affect your bowels.
  • Using a stool softener twice a day will make it easier to have a bowel movement.
  • You may also need to take a laxative. Milk of Magnesia, Citrucel or Fibercon are mild laxatives that you can try.

Call your surgeon’s office right away if you have any of the following symptoms:

  • Fever over 101 degrees F.
  • Incision becomes red, hot to the touch or swollen.
  • Incision starts to drain pus.

Thoracoscopy / Thoracotomy Discharge Instructions

Surgery can take a lot of strength and energy out of you. You will get tired easily at first, but this will improve slowly and steadily over the next few weeks. For a smooth recovery and to help prevent further illness, follow these tips:

  • Eat well balanced, healthy meals.
  • You will need protein to help you heal. Protein is found in lean meats, chicken, fish, beans and dairy products.
  • Be sure to also eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.
  • If you were on a special diet before your surgery (diabetes, low fat, low cholesterol, low salt, etc.), you should continue that diet at home.
  • You may go out to dinner, shop, do light gardening, cook, or go up and down stairs, as long as you do not have problems doing so.
  • You may continue your usual sexual activities.
  • You probably will not have the energy to be very active, so pace yourself. Rest when you get tired. Stop and catch your breath if you get winded.
  • Relaxation and deep breathing exercises are important to help expand your lungs and to help clear them of mucous. The staff will teach you how to do these exercises at home.
  • Use your incentive spirometer at home and take 10- 15 breaths an hour with it, while you are awake (you do not need to wake up to do them every hour). Keep using the incentive spirometer until your follow-up visit.
  • Balance exercise with periods of rest until you regain your strength. This can take from 7-14 days. In 4-6 weeks you should be back to full activity and feel more like yourself.
  • Take a couple of short walks outside each day (unless the weather is bad). Walking is excellent exercise. Taking deep breaths while walking will increase your strength.
  • Do not do any heavy pulling and/or pushing.
  • Avoid push-ups, chin-ups, or lifting weights for at least 8-12 weeks. Your muscles need to heal and regain their strength.
  • Be aware of your posture. Stand up straight, shoulders back and stomach in. Use your pain medicine so that you can maintain good posture.
  • Take pain medicine as prescribed. You will have better pain control if you take the medicine at the first sign of pain, rather than waiting until the pain is more severe.
  • Prescriptions for pain medicine usually cannot be phoned to the pharmacy. They must be mailed to you or picked up from our office, so plan ahead for refills when running low on medicine.
  • Do not drive while taking pain medicine.
  • Try to get eight hours of sleep each night. For the first 2-6 weeks after going home, you may have trouble sleeping for more than 3-4 hours at a time. This will get better as you heal and become more active.
  • You can sleep in any position that is comfortable. Some patients need to sleep sitting in an upright position at first. It may be painful to sleep on your side, but it will not hurt your heart or incisions.
  • You can shower as usual.
  • The dressing over the chest tube site should stay in place for 48 hours after going home. When you take off the bandage, shower, pat wounds dry and then place a Band-Aid or piece of dry gauze over the incisions if there is any drainage.
  • As you become more active, there might be some clear yellow fluid from this area. Drainage may continue for up to two weeks. Use a dressing, as needed, to protect your clothes.
  • Leave the steri-strip dressing on. You may take this dressing off after seven days; otherwise it will be removed at your follow-up visit. If staples were used, they will be removed at your follow-up visit.
  • Constipation is sometimes a problem after surgery because anesthesia and pain medicine can affect your bowels.
  • Using a stool softener twice a day will make it easier to have a bowel movement.
  • You may also need to take a laxative. Milk of Magnesia, Citrucel or Fibercon are mild laxatives that you can try.

Call your surgeon’s office right away if you have any of the following symptoms:

  • Fever over 101 degrees F.
  • Incision becomes red, hot to the touch or swollen.
  • Incision starts to drain pus.

Esophagectomy / Esophagogastrectomy Discharge Instructions

Surgery can take a lot of strength and energy out of you. At first, you will get tired easily, but this will improve slowly and steadily over the next few weeks. For a smooth recovery and to help prevent further illness, follow these tips:

  • Nutritional support is very important during your recovery at home, especially if you had lost weight before your surgery. Nutrition also helps wounds heal. Nutritional support may include tube feedings and/or the use of oral supplements such as Ensure plus, Boost plus or Carnation instant breakfast. Before you leave the hospital, your nurses will teach you how your tube feeding device works and will go over what nutritional supplements you will need.
  • Small meals, usually four to six meals a day, are important since your stomach will not be able to store as much food. You should limit fluids to four to six ounces during meals.
  • At first you may feel full or short of breath while you are eating. Eat smaller meals and eat slowly to help with this. Chew all food well.
  • Eat pureed or soft foods that are high in protein, including chicken, fish, cheese, yogurt and eggs. Limit high-fat foods such as cakes, cookies, and fried foods.
  • Try not to lie down, bend over or strain for one and a half-hours after meals.
  • Do not eat two to three hours before bedtime.
  • Weigh yourself twice a week. Let your surgeon know if you lose two or more pounds in one week. Depending on your weight, your nutrition plan may need to be changed.
  • You may shop, do light gardening, cook, or go up and down stairs, as long as you do not have problems doing so.
  • You may continue your usual sexual activities.
  • You probably will not have the energy to be very active, so pace yourself. Rest when you get tired. Stop and catch your breath if you get winded.
  • Relaxation and deep breathing exercises are very important to help expand your lungs and clear them of mucous. The staff will teach you how to do these exercises at home.
  • Use your incentive spirometer at home and take 10-15 breaths an hour with it whenever you are awake (you do not need to wake up every hour to do this). Keep using the incentive spirometer until your follow-up visit.
  • Balance exercise with periods of rest until you regain your strength. This can take from 7-14 days. In 4-6 weeks you should be back to full activity and feel more like yourself.
  • Do not do any heavy pulling and/or pushing.
  • Avoid push-ups, chin-ups, or lifting weights for at least 8-12 weeks. Your muscles need to heal and regain their strength.
  • Take pain medicine as prescribed. You will have better pain control if you take the medicine at the first sign of pain, rather than waiting until the pain gets worse.
  • Prescriptions for pain medicine usually cannot be phoned to the pharmacy. They must be mailed to you or picked up from our office, so plan ahead for refills when running low on medicines.
  • Do not drive while taking pain medication.
  • Try to get eight hours of sleep each night. For the first 2-6 weeks after going home, you may have trouble sleeping more than 3-4 hours at a time. This will get better as you heal and become more active.
  • You can sleep in any position that is comfortable. However, the head of the bed should be raised slightly.
  • You can shower as usual.
  • The dressing over the incision and drain sites can be removed for showering. Remove bandage, shower, pat wounds dry and then place another dry piece of gauze over the sites if there is any drainage.
  • Leave steri-strip dressing on. You may take this dressing off after seven days; otherwise it will be removed at your follow-up visit. If staples were used, they will be removed at your follow-up visit.
  • Constipation is sometimes a problem after surgery because anesthesia and pain medicine can affect your bowels.
  • Increasing your fluid, fiber intake and physical exercise may help in managing constipation.
  • Using a stool softener twice a day, such as Senokot S, will make it easier to have a bowel movement.
  • You may also need to take a mild laxative such as Milk of Magnesia or a fiber supplement such as Citrucel or Fibercon.

Call your surgeon’s office right away if you have any of the following symptoms:

  • Fever over 101 degrees F.
  • Incision becomes red, hot to the touch or swollen.
  • Incision starts to drain pus.

Incentive Spirometer

An incentive spirometer is a device that measures the size of each breath and helps you with deep breathing. It also helps you cough effectively to get rid of excess mucous in your lungs.

How To Use Your Incentive Spirometer
  1. Sit in a good position for deep breathing.
  2. Make a tight seal around the mouthpiece with your lips.
  3. Slowly breathe in as deeply as possible through the mouthpiece.
  4. Remove the mouthpiece from your mouth and breathe out.
  5. Repeat this deep breathing cycle 10-20 times.
  6. After completing 10-20 deep breaths, cough several times.
  7. Repeat the 10-20 deep breaths and coughing as ordered by your doctor.
  8. If you have had abdominal or chest surgery, placing a pillow or your hand over your incision for support will make taking deep breaths easier.

If you have any questions or concerns, call your surgeon’s office.
You will need to see your surgeon in 1-2 weeks.

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Thoracic Surgery Helen F. Graham Cancer Center
Interventional Pulmonology Helen F. Graham Cancer Center

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Contact Us

Thoracic Surgery & Interventional Pulmonology
302-623-4530

Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute

4701 Ogletown-Stanton Road,
Newark, DE 19713

Get directions and find out more
Call 302-623-4500