If you go in for surgery, one of the first questions you will likely ask after you get to the recovery room is how long full recovery is going to take. Beyond that, when can you go back to work? When will the pain subside? When can you get back into activities like running or swimming?
Naturally, surgeons are quick to point out that every surgery is different. The type of surgery will in part dictate your recovery time.
For example, one doctor noted that abdominal incisions can take a long time to heal because the incision itself has to close. He said that the average amount of time for that to happen is around “one to two months.”
Again, it all depends on the patient. The doctor also noted that the general state of your health plays into recovery time. If you have other injuries or diseases that your body is fighting to heal, it can take longer. If you try to bounce back too quickly, before you’re actually healed, you can cause complications that could slow the healing process down.
It is important to ask your surgeon about your expected healing time because if it ends up being longer than expected, it can be a red flag that a surgeon made a mistake. When the site refuses to heal, gets worse or heals far more slowly than expected, that could be due to an avoidable surgical error. This could mean you will require a second surgery, which will extend your healing time even farther. If this happens to you, make sure you know what you can do to seek compensation through legal action.
