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OLECRANON FRACTURE FIXATION POSTOPERATIVE
INSTRUCTIONS

DRESSING CARE
• The splint and dressing will be removed when you come to clinic for • Do not shower until after your first post-op clinic visit o Sponge baths are allowed, but avoid letting water run directly over your dressing/splint, as this may cause contamination of o Do not submerge your incision (like taking a bath or swimming) • Do not attempt to remove the thin, yellow colored film that may be present on your skin. It is an iodine-based antibacterial solution applied during surgery that is designed to continue to protect the surgical area from infection postoperatively. It will wear off naturally.
PAIN CONTROL
• You should be comfortable for the first 8-12 hours after surgery • Prior to surgery, you were provided prescriptions for a strong pain medicine (Percocet), a medicine to combat nausea (Zofran), and a medicine to help prevent the constipation that sometimes occurs • Begin taking the Percocet with the onset of pain (when the numbness in the arm subsides from the block wearing off) o You make take one or two pills every 4 to 6 hours o Do not wait for the pain to become severe before taking a pain pill  It is easier to “stay ahead” of the pain rather than playing o Do not, however, take more medicine than you need to be • If possible, try to take the Percocet after eating, as it is less likely to • Take a Zofran pill at the onset of any nausea o This is a very strong anti-nausea medicine that even controls the nausea of patients undergoing chemotherapy • Take one Colace pill every 12 hours while you are using the Percocet or other narcotic medicine, to keep your bowels moving. • Remember that you must call the office during regular business o Note that Percocet may not be called into a pharmacy; a written prescription must be picked up from the office o It is quite unlikely you will need more pain pills than those PRECAUTIONS
• Notify the doctors office if you experience: o Temperature over 101.3° that is not relieved by Tylenol o Excessive bloody wound drainage o Severe pain that is not relieved with the above prescriptions o Difficulty breathing or urinating o Numbness or tingling in the operative extremity that is different or worse than that associated with the anesthetic block • Begin with clear liquids (broths, jello, water) and resume a regular • Keep the splint/sling on until you return to the clinic • You can move your hand and wrist freely • After one week, exercises will instituted by your physical therapist or o Your therapist will explain your rehab protocol, but briefly, you • Active elbow flexion bending limited to 90° or right angle • You are encouraged to walk around for 5 minutes every 2 hours during the day to maintain circulation and to prevent blood clots in FOLLOW-UP
• If you do not already have a postoperative appointment, please call our office today or tomorrow to schedule an appointment for 7 – 10
CONTACT INFORMATION
• For emergencies, you can always reach the nurse or physician on call • For non-emergencies, please call your doctor’s clinical assistant

Source: http://www.obiugwonali.com/files/pdfs/ugwonali_olecranon_fracture_fixation_instructions.pdf