Recovery after myomectomy: week by week

The womb has been cut and repaired, so the early weeks are about protecting that healing muscle while you rebuild strength. The figures here come from an Ashford and St Peter's leaflet on recovery after abdominal myomectomy and a Worcestershire leaflet on the keyhole operation. They are typical ranges, and your own surgeon may set different limits.

Keyhole recovery tends to be quicker in the first days because the wounds are smaller, but the leaflets give the same overall four to six weeks off work, so it is sensible not to treat a small scar as a sign that the womb has healed.

Soreness is greatest in the first days and eases with regular painkillers and early walking. Shoulder-tip pain is common after keyhole surgery from retained gas and fades within a few days.

The Ashford leaflet says you can shower the day after surgery and should simply pat the scars dry with clean tissues. Non-dissolvable stitches, if used, may need removing at a GP surgery around five to seven days. Some vaginal bleeding for a couple of weeks is normal, but bleeding that turns heavy or painful may mean infection, and the leaflet asks you to see your GP promptly.

The leaflet advises no driving for 24 hours after a general anaesthetic and a full return typically within two to four weeks, when you can use the controls comfortably and perform an emergency stop. GOV.UK states that it is for the patient to be sure they are fit to drive, that ignoring medical advice may affect the validity of your motor insurance, and that you must tell the DVLA if you are still unable to drive three months after an operation.

Both leaflets give four to six weeks off work, and a physically demanding job may need longer. Penetrative sex is held back for four to six weeks or until bleeding stops.

• Hold a pillow against your tummy when coughing or getting up.

• Eat fibre and drink fluids to avoid straining.

• Plan lifting help, including children, for the first weeks.

The Ashford leaflet describes resting, relaxing and taking gentle exercise for the first couple of weeks, beginning with a short daily walk, then gradually adding more after four weeks. Vigorous sport and swimming wait until about six weeks.

The Worcestershire keyhole leaflet likewise says to avoid strenuous activity during the four to six weeks off work. Core exercises and lifting are best reintroduced step by step, and if a pelvic floor physiotherapist is involved, follow their schedule.

The Ashford leaflet says routine hospital follow-up may take place about two to three months after surgery if arranged. Ask in advance how you will get tissue results and when to expect a review.

If you hope to conceive, ask how long to wait and whether a planned caesarean would be advised in any pregnancy; neither leaflet gives a fixed answer, because it depends on how deeply the womb wall was involved.

• Fever or increasing tummy pain: contact your GP, the ward or NHS 111.

• Heavy or painful bleeding, or wound redness, swelling or discharge.

• Unable to pass urine, or severe unrelieved pain.

• Calf pain, chest pain or breathlessness: call 999 if severe.