If you’re a caregiver for an older adult, you may be concerned about postoperative care. Seniors can take a while to heal because their bodies may be frail. Helping a senior navigate healing after a serious medical procedure, like surgery, requires patience and gentleness.
Some concerns you may have include managing a senior’s medications post-surgery, helping them rest and encouraging them to complete exercises that promote healing. Although seniors may have a long healing journey ahead of them, several practical steps can make this process easier. This guide from Village Caregiving explains how to take care of a senior after surgery.
Tips for Senior Care Post-Surgery
You can implement a few measures to help older adults heal and reduce their discomfort after surgery. Because seniors are often more fragile than younger adults, it’s important to be patient and take things slowly. Appropriate support can help seniors recover more quickly and have less discomfort along the way.
Keep Seniors Comfortable
Managing pain is an important part of the healing process. Depending on the surgery, the older adult in your life may be in some or a lot of pain. Here are several steps you can take to help older adults feel more comfortable after surgery:
- Offer pain medication on a schedule.
- Ensure they have a comfortable place to sit.
- Help them change positions frequently.
- Plan for safe sleeping arrangements.
- Invest in supportive equipment like a walker if needed.
Consider what the senior will be doing when they come home, and make adjustments to their house so they’ll be safe and comfortable. Every situation is unique, so you should assess how a surgery will impact their mobility. Ensure they have a comfortable place to rest and things to do while they’re healing, whether that involves watching TV, reading or something else they enjoy.
Offer Them Nutritious Meals
Food gives your body the nutrients it needs to heal and repair itself. After a surgery, it’s essential for older adults to eat nutritious meals. Some of the best post-surgery foods include bone broth, protein, and whole fruits and vegetables. Avoid sugary snacks or white flour since these foods can be inflammatory and offer little nutritional value.
Because every surgery is different, do your research before choosing a post-surgery diet for an older adult. There are different guidelines for what seniors should and shouldn’t eat after specific operations. However, it’s always important to keep older adults hydrated — water is essential for healing, resting and keeping the body regulated.
Monitor Their Symptoms
After a surgery, older adults often experience a range of emotions and symptoms. While many of these symptoms are normal, you should speak to a doctor if they continue or worsen with time. A few post-surgery symptoms to watch for include:
- Severe pain: Depending on its severity, pain may negatively affect your loved one’s mental and physical health until they begin to heal. Talk to the doctor about the right pain medication to help support your loved one through the healing process.
- Confusion or delirium: Some older adults struggle with their mental state right after surgery. They may seem confused or forgetful, but this should only be temporary. If these symptoms continue long after treatment, contact a doctor.
- Loss of mobility: Until they heal, older adults won’t be able to move around as much as they did before. You can help them avoid a fall with the right equipment, clear pathways and a helping hand.
Seniors may also experience excessive bruising, swelling, loss of appetite or other symptoms after a surgery. If these changes persist or get worse, speak to their doctor. With time and support, older adults can recover from a serious surgery. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the recovery period for seniors is typically longer than that for younger people.
Balance Rest and Exercise
Rest is essential for healing, and it entails more than good sleep. It also includes activities that allow seniors to slow down, breathe and use their energy for recovery. While the older adult in your care is healing, you can personalize their schedule to allow for different kinds of rest, such as watching TV or taking a warm bath.
However, it’s also important to keep seniors moving. This improves blood flow and has a wide range of benefits for healing. The appropriate balance of rest and exercise depends on your loved one’s age, physical fitness and the type of surgery they received.
They may have been prescribed physical therapy or daily exercises to complete, and you can help with that.
Often, physical therapy is painful. Encourage your loved one and allow them to take breaks. With time, the exercises will become easier and allow them to regain mobility. After a period of exercise, make sure they take time to rest, whether taking a nap or talking while sitting in a comfortable chair.
Provide Companionship
When older adults are recovering from a surgery, they’ll need more help than usual. One of the best ways to support them through this journey is by spending time with them. It’s much easier for an older adult to feel discouraged, focus on pain and worry about the future when they’re alone for a prolonged time.
If other responsibilities make it challenging to spend enough time with a loved one recovering from surgery, consider hiring a family caregiver to support you during this time. Family caregivers can offer companionship and support for activities like housecleaning, cooking and moving around a senior’s home.
Studies show that loneliness can negatively impact seniors’ health, affecting their physical and mental state. It’s especially important not to leave older adults alone for too long when they’re in a vulnerable state after surgery. Spending time with your loved one will mean the world to them and help them recover.
Steps to Prepare a Senior’s Home for Post-Surgery
Before an older adult has surgery, there are steps you can take to make their home safer to navigate when they return. Use this list to create a welcoming environment that makes daily life easier for your loved one as they recover. You can tailor these ideas to fit your unique situation.
Eliminate Tripping Hazards
Think about where your loved one will need to walk when they get home. Clear walkways of anything that could cause tripping, like rugs, baskets and excess furniture. If the floor in your home is slippery, consider putting rugs down or investing in nonslip socks.
Make sure there are places where your loved one can hold on while navigating stairs or going around corners. You may need to temporarily remove pictures, rearrange furniture or add more lighting so it’s easier for seniors to see where they are going. After their recovery, you can put the house back as it was before.
Pets are another tripping hazard to consider. If older adults have frisky pets who may get underfoot, consider having them stay with friends until your loved one has recovered. Although pets can provide emotional support, they also require a lot of attention and energy. You can talk to your loved one about the best option for their pets while they recover.
Prep Meals Ahead
After surgery, it may be challenging for seniors to cook. If you’re their primary caregiver, you’ll be busy with other tasks and may not have the time or energy to make meals like you usually do. To make life simpler post-surgery, prep food ahead of time and store it in the fridge and freezer.
You can also ask friends if they’d like to support your loved one with a meal train, bringing food over several times a week. If your schedule is busy, consider hiring a family caregiver to support you with cooking and serving meals. Because nutrition is so important for healing, healthy food isn’t something you should compromise on after a senior’s surgery.
Make Things Accessible
Before surgery, think about what older adults use each day. You can make items like clothing and toiletries more accessible by taking them out of drawers and putting them on a stable surface within easy reach. The house may look messier than usual, but it’s a higher priority for seniors to navigate daily tasks after surgery.
How you move things will depend on the type of surgery your loved one has scheduled. Consider whether they’ll be able to bend over, reach up or twist after surgery. Planning for limited mobility can help you anticipate their needs and prepare. After their recovery, you can put everything back where it belongs.
Invest in Assistive Devices
Medical equipment can make recovery safer and easier for older adults. Here are several assistive medical devices you might invest in before they have surgery, depending on the specific procedure:
- Walker
- Cane
- Reacher or grabber tool
- Sock aid
- Raised toilet seat
- Shower chair
- Grab bars
The best equipment for your loved one depends on their physical fitness, the type of surgery they’re getting and what they’d like to have on hand when they return home. While some seniors might benefit from a wheelchair, others may need a walker or nothing at all. If seniors can’t bend over after surgery, a reacher, sock aid and shower chair can help them complete daily tasks.
Be Present to Help
Having a person physically present can be extremely helpful to seniors after surgery, especially during the first few days. It can be difficult for seniors to think about everything they need until they experience limited mobility after a procedure. During this time, having someone they can quickly ask for help from makes daily tasks much easier and safer.
If you can’t physically be there after an older adult has surgery, you have a few options for supporting a loved one. Make yourself available over the phone in case of emergency, and let seniors know they can call you at any time. You can also hire a family caregiver to stay with them until they regain mobility.
Should You Hire a Caregiver for After-Surgery Home Care?
As you prepare for an older adult’s surgery, you may wonder whether you need additional support. A family caregiver can help you handle daily responsibilities, reducing stress and offering compassionate care so you can get everything done.
After a senior has surgery, you might consider hiring a family caregiver if:
- You are responsible for multiple other people’s well-being.
- Your job is demanding and takes a lot of your time or energy.
- You live far away from the older adult who is getting the surgery.
Even if you have a lot of free time, hiring a family caregiver for post-surgery support can be helpful. You can’t be everywhere at once, and a family caregiver can help you by running errands or staying with your loved one while you take care of errands like grocery shopping and picking up medication.
Caregiving services include support like light housekeeping, cooking, transportation, bathing assistance and companionship. Although some families hire caregivers around the clock, others may benefit from a few hours of assistance a week. The best fit for you depends on your availability and what help seniors need.
Navigating the Cost of Caregiving Services
The biggest hurdle to investing in a caregiving service is the cost. However, while some companies require you to sign a long-term contract, others will work with you to provide affordable care for shorter periods of time. If you can’t afford 24/7 caregiving services, you can still receive support for a few hours a week — enough to make a difference for you and your loved ones.
Plan Ahead to Ease Your Loved One’s Recovery
Healing takes time, and it can take a while for seniors to feel like themselves again after a surgery. Thankfully, there are many things you can do as their caregiver to make recovery faster and easier. A post-surgery recovery plan should include nutritious food, appropriate pain medication, plenty of rest and time spent with loved ones.
If you’re worried that you won’t be able to meet a senior’s needs after surgery, consider hiring a family caregiver for extra support. They can take over everyday tasks, helping you balance responsibilities while ensuring your loved one receives quality care. Carefully prepping before an older adult’s surgery can make their recovery journey much smoother.
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