Last updated: 02/17/2009

The operation takes about one to two hours, following which the patient is taken to the recovery area for about two hours before returning to the neurosurgical ward. The following postoperative measures are the normally taken:

• The patient's...
  
  nose is packed to stop bleeding.
• There may be a dressing on a site of incision in the abdominal wall or thigh if a graft was necessary.

• A drip is attached to the hand and foot and other lines are attached to monitor the heart and breathing.
• A urinary catheter is placed to monitor fluid output.
• The patient has an oxygen mask.

Once in the ward, the patient is allowed to eat and drink the same night, after he or she has recovered from the anesthesia. If fluid intake and output are in balance, the drip and urinary catheter are removed the next morning. The nurses continue to monitor the amount of fluid taken and the amount of urine passed by the patient for a few days. The blood is usually tested the day following surgery. The nasal pack stays for about four days. Once the nasal pack is removed, patients commonly experience moisture coming through the nose and bloodstained mucus occurs frequently. If all is well, patients are usually discharged the following day. There are no sutures to be removed. The sutures in the nose are degradable and the graft site is usually glued together. Patients are advised not to blow their nose or insert anything in the nose.