Which symptoms after surgery mean I should contact the clinic immediately?

At the wound, fever and worsening pain; elsewhere in the body, one calf becoming swollen and painful. Do not judge for yourself — contact the clinic at once and seek emergency care.

How to read the table

The point is to separate signs at the wound from signs elsewhere in the body. Wound symptoms appear at the operated site, but blood clot signs appear somewhere quite different — in a calf or in breathing — so it is easy to miss the link with the surgery.

What these figures do not mean

Swelling and pain occur in a normal course too. The dividing line is not degree but direction: whether it was improving and then got worse, and whether it is one side rather than both.

What makes the difference?

• Why time matters — A clot that travels to the lungs can become dangerous, so the faster the response the better.
• The risk of self-judgement — Swelling and pain occur in a normal course too, so they are hard to tell apart on your own.
• Swelling on one side only — One calf, not both, being swollen and painful is the dividing line.

Separate signs at the wound from signs elsewhere

At the wound the signs are fever, worsening pain, sudden swelling, bleeding and the wound opening. These appear at the operated site and are relatively easy to notice. Blood clot signs appear somewhere quite different: one calf swollen and painful, shortness of breath, or chest pain.

How is it different from a normal course?

Swelling and pain occur in a normal course too, so degree alone does not tell them apart. What you look at is direction: whether it was improving and then got worse, and whether it is one side rather than both. One calf alone being swollen and painful in particular is a symptom the American Society of Plastic Surgeons names as a sign of a blood clot, and has to be treated differently from other symptoms.

Settle the contact route before surgery

You cannot choose when a symptom appears, so confirm in advance how to reach the clinic at night and on holidays. Having on paper the hours when phone contact works, what to do outside those hours, and which hospital to go to in an emergency cuts the time spent deciding. With shortness of breath or chest pain the rule is not to judge for yourself but to seek emergency care immediately.

What to confirm at consultation

• How to reach the clinic at night and on holidays
• The hours when contact is possible
• Which hospital to go to in an emergency

Asking about your own case

The table above gives general ranges and does not apply to you as it stands. Rephrasing the question like this at consultation gets you an answer for your own case.

Where do I call at night or on holidays? Which hospital should I go to in an emergency?

Common misunderstandings

Isn't swelling and pain normal?

Swelling and pain occur in a normal course too. The dividing line is direction: whether it was improving and then got worse, and whether it is one side rather than both. One calf alone being swollen and painful is named as a sign of a blood clot.

Where do I call at night or on holidays?

Confirm the contact route and hours before surgery. With shortness of breath or chest pain the rule is not to judge for yourself but to seek emergency care immediately.

Blood clot risk and how it is prevented →

Related questions

• What is a blood clot in cosmetic surgery, and how is it prevented?
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• Do I need to stay in hospital after cosmetic surgery?