Recovering from womb cancer surgery

After your surgery, you might feel drowsy due to the general anaesthetic. You may not remember much about the first few hours after you wake up. A nurse will do regular checks on you. They will check your blood pressure, so you might be aware of the machine cuff tightening on your arm every so often. 

Depending on your surgery, you may have inflatable cuffs on your lower legs, so you may notice them gently squeezing your legs. They help to prevent blood clots (deep vein thrombosis or DVT). You might be wearing a face mask or small plastic tubes into your nose to give you oxygen until you are more awake. 

You may be wearing a special blanket to keep you warm. You might be aware of the nurses checking your wound. The nurses will explain what they are doing and what to expect. You may feel thirsty or have a dry or sore throat from having a breathing tube in during surgery.

When you wake up, you may have some tubes attached to your body. You may have an intravenous infusion which is a drip of fluids into your vein. The fluids are given through a cannula. A cannula is a small, thin plastic tube that goes into your arm or the back of your hand. The infusion is to keep you hydrated until you can eat and drink normally.

During surgery, you may have a small, plastic tube placed into your tummy (abdomen). This is to drain any lymph fluid that collects in that area. The end of the drain will stick out your tummy and be held in place with a stitch. The tube is connected to a bag or bottle to collect the fluid. It is usually removed after a few days.

You will have a small, flexible plastic tube (catheter) put into your bladder to drain urine (pee) into a bag. This is called a urinary catheter. It is usually put in during surgery and left in until you are out of bed and moving around.

A total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) is a big operation. Pain can vary depending on the type of hysterectomy you have. But you may notice some discomfort for weeks, especially if you had open surgery. Your nurse can tell you:

• what to expect
• how to manage your pain
• what to be aware of
• what to do if your pain is not getting better.

Make sure before you leave hospital you know who you can contact if you have questions after you go home.

It is normal to have some pain or discomfort after surgery. If you had laparoscopic or robotic (keyhole) surgery, the gas in your tummy can also make you feel uncomfortable for a few days. The feeling goes away as your body absorbs the gas.

Pain and discomfort can be controlled with painkillers. Your healthcare team will be keen to get you up and moving as soon as possible after surgery. This helps with your recovery. So, it is important you are comfortable to do this. Tell your nurses if you are feeling pain.

Straight after surgery you may need stronger painkillers. They can be given in the following ways:

Painkillers are only given into a vein, epidural or rectus sheath until you can eat and drink normally. You will move on to tablets as your recover over the following days. You need to be on tablets before you can go home. You will be given painkillers to take at home and told how often you should take them.

Many people worry about feeling sick (nausea) or being sick (vomiting) after the surgery. But there are medications that can help with this.

Your nurse can give you anti-sickness (anti-emetic) injections or tablets to help prevent nausea or control any sickness. It is important to tell the nurses if you are feeling sick. They will want you to eat and drink as soon as possible as this helps your recovery.

Straight after your surgery, the nurses can help you with washing and going to the toilet. But the nurses will encourage you to get up and move around as soon as possible.

You may feel anxious about getting up after your surgery. But moving around can prevent complications and help your recovery. This is why it is important that pain or sickness are controlled. You can only move properly if you feel comfortable. If you have drips, drains or a catheter, you can still get up and move around. The nurses can help show you how to do this safely.

Your surgeon will close your wound with clips, stitches or medical skin glue. A nurse at your GP surgery will usually remove surgical clips or stitches after you go home. Some surgeons use dissolving stitches that do not need to be removed. They dissolve completely when the area has healed. The nurses will tell you if you have these.

Before you go home, the nurses will give you advice. They can:

• give you contact details for who will care for your wound after you go home or who to call if you are worried about your wound
• explain how to keep the wound clean and advice about baths and showers
• tell you if and when any dressings should be changed or removed
• give you a letter for your practice nurse or district nurses.

When you go home, the nurse might also ask you to check:

• your wound
• the area around the dressing – if you have to keep the dressing on.

This is to check there are no signs of infection and that it is healing well. Signs of infection can include:

• heat, pain, swelling, redness or a darker change in skin colour over the wound, around the scar, or both
• fluid coming from the wound (discharge or pus), that may smell
• a temperature above 37.5°C or above 99.5°F (a fever)
• feeling shivery and shaky
• feeling generally unwell, even with a normal temperature.

If you have any signs of infection, contact your doctor or nurse straight away on the number you have been given.

Constipation is when you are not able to pass stools (poo) as often as you normally do. It can become difficult or painful. It can happen after surgery. Tell your nurse if you feel like this. They can give you treatment called laxatives to help. If you are on regular painkillers, they may give you a laxative to help prevent constipation.

You may have all kinds of emotions after your surgery. You may feel a sense of loss. It is common to feel low. This is often a reaction to:

• the diagnosis of cancer
• having surgery to remove your womb
• the changes to your body and how you feel about it (body image)
• being in hospital and away from your usual support network.

These feelings may start to get better after a few days, or you may continue to feel this way. Tell your doctor or specialist nurse if you are not feeling better, or if you begin to feel very low or depressed. You may need extra help and support.

Some hospitals have local support groups for people who have gynaecological cancers. You may find a support group helpful. Ask your nurse specialist if there is one in your hospital or local area.

You may want to talk about your feelings with an organisation that specialises in womb cancer. You could also join an online support group such as our womb cancer forum. You can chat with other people who have womb cancer. Or you can just read the posts or blogs other people have written.

You will be given an appointment to come back to the outpatient clinic to meet with the surgeon. You may also talk to your specialist nurse. Instead of going to the hospital the appointment might be over the telephone.

Your surgeon or nurse will ask about how you are feeling. They will ask questions to make sure you are recovering as expected. They will explain the results of your surgery. If any further treatment is needed, they can talk to you about this.

It is common to feel anxious after surgery. You may feel your recovery is taking longer than you expected. Or you may be worried about having further treatment. It is often helpful to talk about your feelings with your family and friends. You can also talk to your specialist nurse or call our cancer support specialists on 0808 808 00 00.