During the Surgery

A laparotomy may be done for lots of different reasons, and the what the surgeons need to do to help the problem will vary a lot from one person to the next.

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You will have a general anaesthetic - where you go to sleep for the operation. Sometimes it is necessary to be kept asleep after the operation for a period while you recover - if this happens you will be looked after in the intensive care unit.

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The surgery is likely to take several hours - it is common for families to be waiting a long time to hear news of their loved one and it doesn’t mean something has gone wrong.

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When you wake up after the surgery, you will often have lots of medical equipment attached. Common examples include fluid drips, painkiller pumps, urinary catheters, and surgical drains. These will be taken away and stopped over the coming days when you no longer need them. Some more information on these is in our recovery information leaflet.

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