The short version
- Several incisions under an inch, a camera, and instruments the surgeon controls from a console in the room.
- Shoulder and abdominal gas pain is normal for several weeks and takes patients by surprise. Simethicone after meals helps. [1]
- Robotic incisions closed with surgical glue: keep the glue on until 2 weeks after surgery. [1]
- No lifting over 15 to 20 pounds and no core exercise for 6 weeks. Pelvic rest for 12 weeks. [1]
- Vaginal spotting can be normal for up to 12 weeks after this operation. [1]
Your own discharge papers come first
Everything on this page is taken from the standard printed instructions this office gives patients. If the papers you were handed at discharge say something different, follow those. They were written for your operation. When the two disagree, call the office at 817-759-7065 and let us settle it.
After laparotomy or laparoscopy
The instructions you were given at discharge, in case the paper copy has gone missing.
What happens
You are asleep under general anesthesia. Several small incisions are made across the abdomen. Carbon dioxide gas is used to lift the abdominal wall away from the organs so there is room to see and work. A camera goes in through one incision and thin instruments through the others.
The surgeon sits at a console a few feet away and controls those instruments directly. Every movement the instruments make is a movement the surgeon made. The system filters out hand tremor and lets the instrument tips rotate further than a wrist can, which is what makes fine work in a small space possible.
Most patients go home the same day or after one night.
The gas pain nobody warns you about
This is the single most common surprise after robotic surgery, so here it is in advance. The gas used during the operation takes time to absorb, and while it does it causes bloating and pain that can settle under the ribs or in the shoulder. Referred shoulder pain after abdominal surgery is normal and it is not a sign that anything is wrong with your shoulder.
Our instructions say it is common to have abdominal bloating and gas pains for several weeks after surgery, that it goes away in time, and to take simethicone, sold as Gas-X, after meals as needed. [1] Walking helps more than anything else. Get up and walk at least every one to two hours in the days after surgery, which also protects against blood clots in the legs. [1]
Your incisions and the glue
Robotic incisions are usually closed with surgical glue. Keep the glue on until two weeks after surgery. [1] It will loosen and flake off on its own. Do not peel it, and do not scrub it.
Wash the incisions with warm soapy water, and keep them clean and dry. [1] Any other dressing you were sent home with comes off on day 7. [1] If you were sent home with a negative pressure dressing, which is purple foam with a battery pack, it will start beeping and lose suction when it is finished, usually five to seven days after surgery. At that point you may peel it off and throw it away along with the battery pack. [1]
Recovery week by week
A few details from the written instructions that patients ask about most:
- Pain medicine. Alternate Tylenol and ibuprofen every 3 hours as needed. Up to 600 mg of ibuprofen every 6 hours, and up to 650 mg of Tylenol every 6 hours. Prescription medicine is for breakthrough pain. [1]
- Showering. You may shower the day after surgery. Avoid tub baths, swimming, and hot tubs for about 2 weeks or until your physician clears you at the post-operative visit. [1]
- Constipation. Avoid straining. Take a stool softener twice a day as needed and drink plenty of water. Prune juice, apple juice, or Miralax can be added. [1]
- Bleeding. Vaginal spotting or bleeding is normal up to 12 weeks after surgery. [1]
- Follow-up. Your 2 week and 6 week appointments were scheduled the same day your surgery was scheduled. If you are not sure of the date, check the blue folder you were given after your consult, or call 817-759-7019. [1]
When to call
When to seek care right away
Call the office now, or go to the emergency department, if you have:
- A fever of 101 degrees Fahrenheit or higher
- Chest pain or shortness of breath
- Nausea and vomiting you cannot get on top of
- Increased pain, swelling, redness, or drainage from an incision
- Bleeding through more than one pad an hour
- Vaginal discharge with a foul odor
- Trouble emptying your bladder, or burning when you urinate
- Increasing swelling in one leg
After laparotomy or laparoscopy
The printed instructions that cover robotic and laparoscopic surgery.
Sources
- Vasques DR. Post Laparotomy or Laparoscopy Instructions. The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Fort Worth, TX. Patient handout supplied by the practice. pdfs/after-laparotomy-or-laparoscopy.pdf
- National Cancer Institute. Endometrial Cancer Treatment (PDQ) Patient Version. Updated November 13, 2020. https://www.cancer.gov/types/uterine/patient/endometrial-treatment-pdq
Reviewed by DeEtte R. Vasques, DO, MBA · September 2026