After surgery

Most patients can leave hospital 4 to 6 days after surgery.

An open retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) is a major operation and you should expect to feel tired after surgery. It’s important to rest. At first, you might feel like sleeping during the day.

Try to take things easy for the first 10 days after leaving hospital and do as little physical activity as you can. Avoid any activities that involve heavy lifting for 6 weeks.

lt can take between 6 and 12 weeks to recover completely.

Recovering after surgery

Physiotherapy and exercise

The day after the operation, your physiotherapist will help you get out of bed into a chair. We’ll also teach you deep breathing and leg exercises. These are very important to help you recover from the operation.

Keep exercising regularly after leaving hospital. This should be very gentle at first. Gradually do more exercise as you start to have more energy.

Having sex

Do not have sex for 2 weeks after your operation. After this, you can gradually ease back into having sex as normal.

Driving

Only start driving when you’re able to do an emergency stop without hesitation. This is normally about 6 weeks after the operation. Check with your insurance company to make sure that you’re still covered after having an operation.

Going back to work

You can go back to work about 6 weeks after the operation when you’re feeling better. If you have a manual job that involves heavy lifting or physical work, you should not go back to work for at least 8 weeks.

If you need a fit note, you can get one from the ward to cover the time you spent in hospital. If you need one when you return home, you can get one from your GP.

Aeroplane travel

You should not go on an aeroplane until after you’ve had your follow-up appointment. This is because there’s an increased risk of getting a blood clot in your leg when flying after surgery. Ask your surgeon for advice before you travel.

Follow-up appointment

You’ll have a follow-up appointment with your oncologist about 3 weeks after your operation. This will be in the outpatients department.

We’ll discuss the test results of your tissue sample and support you with how to manage the cancer. This advice will change depending on whether or not cancer cells were found in your lymph nodes.

6 weeks after your operation, you’ll have an appointment with your surgeon to see how well you’re recovering. We’ll check if you’re fit enough to go back to work.

Useful information

• Dimbleby Cancer Care offers support and information during and after your cancer treatment at our hospitals.
• Macmillan Cancer Support has a free booklet called ‘Understanding testicular cancer’.
• Orchid Fighting Male Cancer has information and support for testicular and prostate cancers.