Possible problems after cancer surgery

There is a risk of problems or complications after any operation. Some are the same no matter what surgery you have. Others depend on what operation you have had and your general health.

Many problems are minor but some can be life threatening. Treating them as soon as possible is important. Tell your doctor or nurse if you have any problems after your operation. This includes when you go home. 

This page is about possible problems you can get after any operation. Go to the surgery section for your cancer type to find out about other possible complications.

Before your operation

Your surgeon explains any possible short and longer term complications to you. They also explain the benefits of having surgery. This helps both decide whether the benefits outweigh the possible risks. 

Pain

It is natural to have some pain after surgery. But it is usually well controlled with painkillers. You need to take these as prescribed. If you wait until you get pain before taking them, it can be harder to control. Let your doctor or nurse know if the painkillers are not working or if the pain is getting worse.

Pain usually lasts a few weeks after surgery. But you might need to carry on taking painkillers for longer. 

Ask your doctor or nurse to refer you to a pain specialist if you have pain for longer than expected. Or if the pain is severe. Pain might become more difficult to manage if it’s not well controlled soon after the operation.

Long term pain

Some people may have pain for some months after an operation. It often happens:

• after chest surgery (thoracotomy)
• after removal of a breast (mastectomy)
• if you already have a long term pain condition

Continuing pain after surgery is called chronic post surgical pain (CPSP). 

Pain after surgery to remove an arm or leg

Some people have pain when they have had an arm or leg (limb) removed. Although the limb has gone, the person still feels pain in the area where the limb was. This is called phantom limb pain.

Infections

There is a risk of infection after an operation. This can include a wound, chest or urine infection. Symptoms can depend on where the infection is. But general symptoms include:

• a high temperature

• shivering

• feeling hot and cold

• feeling sick

• feeling generally unwell

• loss of appetite

Tell your doctor or nurse if you have any of these symptoms.

Chest infection

A chest infection is a common complication after many operations. It can happen if you are not moving around or breathing deeply enough after surgery. Moving about and taking deep breaths helps to keep your lungs clear. If you are not able to do this, what you would normally cough up stays in your lungs and can become infected.

As well as the general symptoms of an infection you might also have:

• a cough with yellow or green sputum
• breathlessness
• pain in your chest

Tell your doctor or nurse if you have any of these symptoms. They will give you antibiotics either as tablets or into your bloodstream (intravenous).  They may also give you oxygen if the infection is making it difficult for you to breath. 

Chest infections, including pneumonia, can be serious. You can lower the risk by:

• stopping smoking before your operation
• getting up and moving as soon as possible after your operation
• doing any breathing exercises your physiotherapist teaches you

Wound infection

Sometimes you can get an infection in your wound after surgery.

As well as the general symptoms of an infection you might also have:

• swelling or redness around the wound
• the skin around the wound might feel warm to touch
• a strong smelling liquid (discharge) leaking from your wound

If they think you have a wound infection, your nurse gently runs a small stick like a cotton bud around the inside of the wound. This is called a swab. They send it to the laboratory to find out if there is an infection and what is causing it.

If you do have a wound infection, your doctor prescribes you antibiotics to treat it. You normally take these as tablets. Or your nurse gives them to you intravenously. This depends on how bad the infection is and what is causing it.

If there is a lot of discharge from the wound, you may need extra dressings on it. And you may need the dressings changed more often. 

Urine infection

As well as the general symptoms of an infection you might also have:

• cloudy smelly pee
• pain or stinging when having a pee
• needing to pee more than normal

Tell your doctor or nurse if you have any symptoms of an infection. Or if you are having problems when you pee. They can check what is causing it. If you have an infection they can give you antibiotics. 

Blood clots

Blood clots are also called a deep vein thrombosis or DVT. They are a possible complication of having surgery. Clots can block the normal flow of blood through the veins, especially the veins in your leg or arm. Let your doctor or nurse know if your leg or arm becomes:

• swollen
• hot
• red
• sore

A blood clot in the lungs

There is a risk that a blood clot can become loose and travel through the bloodstream. This can cause a blockage in the lungs called a pulmonary embolism (PE). Symptoms of a PE include:

• shortness of breath
• chest pain
• coughing up blood
• feeling dizzy or lightheaded

There are lots of reasons that surgery can increase the risk of blood clots. One reason is that you can't normally move around as much after an operation as you usually would.

Your nurses and physiotherapist will help you to get up and moving as soon as possible after your operation. This can help reduce the risk of blood clots.

Leg exercises

It's important to do the leg exercises that your nurse or physiotherapist taught you. This can also help prevent blood clots.

Injections to help prevent blood clots

Your nurse might give you an injection under the skin (subcutaneously) to help lower the risk of blood clots. You normally have these while you are in hospital. But you might need to carry on having them for a few weeks after you go home. This depends on the type of operation you had.

Your nurse might teach you to do these injections yourself before you go home. Or they might arrange for a district nurse to come to your home to do them.

Compression stockings

It is important to continue wearing compression stockings if you have been told to by your doctor or nurse. They will tell you how long to wear them for.

You need to remove the stockings once a day whilst you have a wash. This lets you check the skin on your legs and make sure you don’t have any blisters or discoloured patches. Your nurse will tell you who to contact if you have any problems. Tell them if you don’t think you will be able to put the stockings back on again. Or if there is no one to help you.

Bleeding

You may have bleeding after your operation. This can be from your wound or inside your body. Reasons for bleeding after an operation include:

• a leak where your surgeon stopped a blood vessel from bleeding
• your blood is not clotting properly

Treatment depends on how much you are bleeding and what is causing it. Sometimes you may need a blood transfusion to replace some of the blood you have lost. Rarely you will need another operation to stop the bleeding.

Your doctor and nurses will regularly check for signs of bleeding after surgery.

Collection of blood or fluid

Sometimes blood or tissue fluid can collect around the operation area and cause swelling. A collection of blood is called a haematoma. And a collection of tissue fluid is called a seroma. The collection may need to be drained. Your doctor or nurse does this by putting a needle or drainage tube into the area.

Lymphoedema

Lymphoedema is swelling caused by a build up of fluid in part of the body. It usually happens in an arm or leg but can happen in other areas, such as the chest or head and neck. It affects areas where lymph nodes  have been damaged or removed. 

The lymph nodes are part of the lymphatic system. This is a network of thin tubes and nodes (glands) in the body that filters lymph fluid and fights infection.

Most people won't get lymphoedema. But if you notice swelling in your hands or feet after surgery to the armpit or groin, you should tell your doctor. 

Once you have lymphoedema, it can't be got rid of completely. But if caught early, it can be treated and controlled very well.

Bruising

You might have bruising around the operation area. Sometimes the bruises can cover a large area around the wound. This can look alarming but it usually goes away slowly over a few days or weeks.