What complications can flying cause?

How long after surgery can I fly?

It’s natural to want to jump right back into your life’s activities after surgery. And in many cases, you can ease in to normal activities fairly quickly. However, air travel may not be such a great idea for a while.

Air travel is not something that usually comes up in post-operative instructions that patients receive. If you’ve had chest, abdominal, neurological or ear/nose/throat (anything on or near the head) surgery, doctors recommend a minimum of 10-14 days before allowing air travel.

The head and the lungs are very sensitive to pressure changes while healing. Most jet flights are pressurized to about 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) and this is a significant change in atmospheric pressure that can adversely affect a head or abdominal surgery site.

Less complicated or invasive surgeries, for example appendectomies or arthroscopic procedures require less time between surgery and flying.

Don’t Risk Complications

You certainly don’t want air travel to cause complications – surgery and recovery are traumatic enough! But the risk of complications does arise if you fly too soon and don’t take some simple precautions.

One of the biggest risks associated with air travel is deep vein thrombosis or DVT, which are blood clots in the veins of the legs.

Many patients develop these during their hospital stay (from lack of movement and the resulting poor circulation) – and air travel, especially long flights, can make things worse.

The relative immobility of air travel can cause circulation to slow. This can cause small clots to cluster together into larger clots, as well as allowing clots to grow.

Even if the patient doesn’t develop clots in the legs, any abdominal surgery, especially those lasting more than 1-2 hours, can predispose the body to formation of many small clots in deep veins. Many of these dissolve naturally, but since there are no symptoms prior to a clot causing a blockage, you may be unaware that you have a clot.

Thrombosis can be lethal, and strike with little or no warning as clots break loose and travel into the heart, lungs or brain.

Don’t Risk Infection

Another risk is infection. Airplanes are notorious for being “flying petri dishes” as many people fail to take even basic precautions and fly when they are sick.

Your body is already under a tremendous amount of stress due to the surgery, and chances are your immune system is taxed to its limit. Introducing bacteria and viruses during air travel can be extremely dangerous!

Precautions For A Safe Flight

When you finally get clearance to fly, take these precautions to make your flight safe, comfortable and healthy:

• Make sure you’ve been mobile before the flight. Exercise helps dissolve small clots and improves circulation so that new clots don’t form.
• Take aspirin or a stronger anticoagulant if there is ANY suspicion that clots may be present.
• Stay hydrated but avoid caffeine and alcohol; hydration helps prevent thrombosis. Also stay away from sugary drinks, as sugar is known to interfere with the immune system.
• If possible, walk the aisles or move to the lavatory area where you can stand and stretch your legs.
• Wear compression stockings. These help promote circulation in the legs and also help prevent thrombosis.
• If possible, get a bulkhead seat where there is more leg room – but avoid the exit rows, because if you sit there, you are required to assist the crew in case of an emergency.
• Make sure any medications you need to take inflight are easily accessible so you don’t strain yourself or pull out stitches trying to pretzel yourself under the seat to reach your pills!
• Sit near or over the wing of the airplane. Airplanes act like giant seesaws, and the ride is the smoothest in the middle. This is especially nice when you have tender body parts that don’t feel good being jostled!
• Take an early morning flight. Morning air is generally significantly calmer than afternoon air – meaning less turbulence and less bouncing about.
• Bring sanitizing wipes and wipe down your arm rest, seat belt buckle and tray table. Although the lavatory is cleaned after every flight, the passenger areas are NOT wiped down, and bacteria can live for several hours.

If you’re preparing for surgery of any kind, or if a loved one will be operated on, chances are good you’re nervous – maybe even terrified. And the anxiety keeps building from the time you schedule the surgery until the moment the anesthetic starts to take effect. The anxiety stems from uncertainty. Things could go wrong, you may not have a clue as to how the procedure is performed, and you have no idea what is going on inside your body before, during and after surgery.

The Importance Of Being Positive and Calm

The patient’s mental and emotional state of being needs to be as calm and positive as possible before and after the surgery. Many people prefer not to know what happens in their body because they are squeamish about it, but ultimately, knowledge of what to expect can have a powerful calming effect – especially if the patient feels a sense of control.

Technology has come to the rescue! If you want to know what the surgery is going to be like, try virtual surgery!

What Is It?

Virtual surgery is a virtual reality simulation of any number of surgical procedures including laser hair removal, open heart surgery, root canals, gastric bypass, tonsillectomies, knee surgery, c-sections and more – even tattoo removal! You can find a number of sites that have great interactive virtual surgery “games” where you take the part of the surgeon and perform the procedure. Of course you’re guided through it the entire way!

Become Your Own Surgeon Temporarily

The beauty of virtual surgery is that the patient becomes the surgeon and assumes control of the situation. In some games, the procedure begins with an explanation of the procedure, important safety guidelines and familiarization with the people involved and their duties. This empowering feeling can carry over to the actual physical procedure. The patient will be informed, and much more relaxed about the whole thing.

With all the virtual surgery sites available to choose from, which ones are the best?

Well, it depends in part:

• on your knowledge of anatomy
• whether you’re squeamish, and
• whether you prefer to experience the surgery as cartoon representations, or
• more realistic virtual body parts

Most sites are geared to the public; a few to the medical profession.

On the interactive “virtual surgery games” sites, procedures are simplified for the general public and generally don’t show blood.

My only complaint is the oversimplification of some procedures, which may make the user believe that surgery is a piece of cake.

Wrong!

There are many intricate systems at work in the body, and virtual surgery can’t possibly replicate them all (at least not with today’s technology). That said, these games are very entertaining and educational at the same time.

Be Prepared

Being educated about what’s going on in your surgery or the surgery that a loved one will undergo, will put your mind at ease. It will give you enough information to talk to the surgeon and understand the terminology during pre-op consultations, and educated post-op conversations.

Understanding the magnitude of the trauma that any surgery imposes on the body is important for healing, too.

Many people try to do too much, too soon (that’s easy to do, when the pain mediation has kicked in!). Some surgeons suggest that their surgery patients should be encouraged to play virtual surgery games so that they understand how much trauma occurs and how much healing the body has to undergo after surgery, in hopes of preventing post-operative problems and speed healing.

The Value of Virtual Surgery

Perhaps the biggest benefit to virtual surgery is the ability to put the patient’s mind at ease about the procedure.

A stressed mind impairs healing. If a patient can release stress by knowing what to expect, their mind will be more primed for healing and less worried about the “what ifs” that keep the brain on high alert. This is important both pre-op and post-op; a relaxed brain quickly goes into healing mode and becomes very effective at secreting healing substances – unless it’s stressed, in which case healing is put on hold.

Try a virtual surgery game today! They’re fun, educational and will put your anxiety about surgery to rest!

If you’ve been told that you have to have surgery … whether it is minor or major … you will have had that rush of anxiety.

I don’t know about you, but my biggest fear was that I wouldn’t wake up from anaesthetic.

It doesn’t matter how many surgeries you have … there is still a level of anxiety that is associated with it.

These are some of the things that you can do to overcome your anxiety:

1. breathe deeply in for the count of 5-10 and hold for the count of 5-10 and then gently breathe out for the count of 5-10.  The more you practice this method of breathing – the longer you will be able to hold your count.
2. take action … don’t sit around worrying.  Do something physical to take your mind of your impending surgery.
3. treat yourself … this could be an outing, shopping, going to the movies, having a luxurious aromatherapy scented bath … you are only limited by your imagination.
4. listen to soothing, relaxing, music … or if you like loud, head banging music … listen to that … use music to put you into another time and space … really feel the music – whole bodily.
5. write down all the things that are worrying you in a journal … and then set them aside — ask your unconscious mind to deal with them on your conscious mind’s behalf.
6. if there are things that you need to talk to your doctor or anaesthetist about … make sure you do this
7. get your affairs in order before surgery … make sure you have written a Will and discussed your wishes with your next of kin.  This may sound macabre – but it will ease any worry about this.
8. handle unfinished business … this can cause anxiety, too.

To learn more about coping with surgery anxiety … get your copy of “Before After Surgery Toolbox” where all your questions will be answered.

Author:  Julie Lewin

Being told that you have to have surgery can be frightening – especially if it is your first time in the operating theatre.  There are practical things you can do to make your upcoming procedure an easeful and positive experience.

To prepare yourself for your surgical procedure, it is best to start as soon as possible after being told that you need surgery.  This will ease your fear and moments of panic greatly.

The key things to consider and do are:

• manage your stress levels
• surround yourself with positive, support people (friends, family and medical)
• find the right surgeon for you
• talk to some people who’ve had the same surgical procedure you need to have
• know your family medical history with anesthetic
• handle any unfinished business and make sure your affairs are in order

It is really important to feel that you have some sense of control of your upcoming journey into the unknown.  To do this, you will want to know as much as you can about the procedure and focus on the positive benefits you will gain from the surgery.

Interestingly, by focusing on the positive benefits, your mind and body will assume that vibration – attracting more of what you are thinking and feeling.  You will notice that things will start to fall into place and you will have a sense of synchronicity and harmony.

Use the Before After Surgery Toolbox to prepare yourself for the best positive surgery experience you can.

http://www.beforeaftersurgerytoolbox.com