Phase 3 · Recovering
Know what to expect—and when to call.
Recovery is a progression, not a race. Your surgeon’s discharge instructions are the plan for you; this guide helps you understand the milestones and recognize when the team needs to hear from you.
A practical recovery path
Look for steady progress, not a perfect day.
Timing varies by operation, health, and home support. These stages are orientation points, not promises or permission to advance activity.
Follow the discharge plan, take medicines exactly as directed, use your walker or cane if prescribed, and take short, safe walks with help available.
Protect the incision, manage swelling, complete the exercises your team prescribed, and notice whether pain and mobility are moving in the right direction.
Attend follow-up, build strength and endurance, and change assistive devices only when your surgical or therapy team says it is safe.
Keep progressing toward the activities that matter to you. Driving, work, travel, and sports should resume on the timetable your surgeon gives you.
What to watch each day
Four trends tell a clearer story.
A single hard day can be normal. A worsening trend—or a new symptom—deserves attention.
Is pain gradually becoming easier to manage, even if some days are better than others?
Is the wound staying closed and dry without increasing redness, warmth, or drainage?
Is swelling responding to the elevation, ice, movement, and medication plan your team prescribed?
Are walking, transfers, and prescribed exercises becoming safer or easier over time?
Get emergency help now
Sudden shortness of breath, chest pain, or fainting.
Call emergency services. These can be warning signs of a pulmonary embolism or another serious problem.
Call your surgical team promptly
Do not wait for the next routine visit.
- Persistent fever or chills
- Increasing redness, warmth, or drainage from the incision
- Increasing pain at rest or with activity
- New calf pain, redness, or swelling
Patient recovery resources
Your own instructions come first.
These national patient guides reinforce early safe movement, prescribed exercises, wound and clot awareness, and contacting the surgical team when recovery is not following the expected course.
This is general education, not individualized postoperative advice. Follow your surgeon’s discharge instructions and contact that team when instructions conflict or symptoms concern you.
Keep reading
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