Need to plan laparoscopy out of town - how long after to wait before flying

[Maryspriggs]

Hello everyone. I am a 58 year old ex-endometriosis sufferer. I have a 17 year old daughter with suspected endometriosis who is in terrible pain. I have been unable to find a local doctor to do laparoscopy because of her age. We located and met with an excellent doctor in Dallas who will do the laparoscopy. Does anyone know how long my daughter would have to wait before flying home after the surgery ? Thanks much !!

[luthien]

Hi I looked up the NHS website and searched for "when can I fly after surgery?" it says in general it depends on what's being done and the airline. Lists two timeframes for abdominal surgery; 4 to 5 days for simple and 10 days after more complicated. So I guess it would be best to check with the surgeon what they plan on doing and what it classes as. Then check with the airline and travel insurance as they'll both need to know about the surgery; okay you could not let them know but if something were to go wrong like it takes longer to recover or not well enough to fly yet you can sometimes claim it back.

Personally considering the op and how I felt, I think I'd say two weeks before flying; moving about reduces the risk of dvt when recovering from an op so make sure your daughter can do that comfortably; dvt is increased by flying anyway so double the risk isn't a good idea just after an op.

You might want to check if the surgeon is going to just diagnose endo or if they will excise it as well and carry out biopsies of anything else. This would mean one op rather than two and your daughter should feel so much better a few months later rather than having a lap for a diagnosis and then going back to have further surgery to remove it.

Hope all goes well xx