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Laparoscopic Appendectomy - Appendectomy

Home Care and Complications

What happens later at home?

Once home, a person should:

try to limit lifting as much as possible until given other advice.

eat a soft, bland diet for a few days.

take any medicine recommended.

use a mild laxative such as or stool softener, such as docusate sodium, if no bowel movement occurs by 72 hours after leaving the hospital. Eating prunes or drinking prune juice may help, too.

use a heating pad sparingly to relieve pain around the incision site(s). Usually, this is just a muscle ache.

stay active by going on short walks. Slowly resume daily activities.

What are the potential complications after the procedure?

Infection is the biggest problem after this type of surgery. As many as one in five people who have a ruptured appendix may develop an abscess (collection of pus) in the abdomen that needs to be drained. This may not show up for as long as 2 weeks after surgery. Some people get an infection around the site through which an infected appendix was removed. Because of this, a surgeon may leave the wound partially open to heal on its own.

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