How does one use the CPAP after surgery?

[roly]

When a tube to your stomach is inserted through the nose to pump out stomach fluids after surgery, how does one make use of the CPAP for the first few nights when the tube is still there?

[wabmorgan]

Call your doctor and ask.

The answer could well be..... you don't use CPAP.

(I had to skip CPAP for awhile after a septo-rhinplasty surgery.)

[gasparama]

Gee, I don't see how you can use CPAP with a tube down your nose. When I had surgery in June, the RT just came in and showed my how to threat the oxygen tube through my mask. Then I just wore the mask as usual. You should at least have an oxygen monitor on your finger so that the staff can monitor your progress and make sure that you are given enough oxygen.

[gasp]

When my dad was in the hospital, they let his SATS drop below 90 regularly while his CPAP sat on the table beside the bed. This happened at two different hospitals over many visits. We found that the patient/family is the best advocate to help put the CPAP into play after surgery or during an illness. Ask your sleep doctor to work with your surgical and regular physician to ensure as another member here said, that you're getting oxygen and that your SATS are where they should be.

Best wishes on your surgery.

[KenK]

Make sure that your doctor knows about the CPAP and that someone is at the hospital that knows about the machine and how to use it. I had surgery 2 years ago and even though all the precautions were made, the recovery room nurse decided that since I was to be on oxygen, I didn't need the CPAP. After about 10 minutes of me gaspng for air, they finally called a respitory therapist in and tried to connect my CPAP. Neither of them had any clue what they were doing. Finally they called my wife in to hook it up. They had a special adapter they put between the machine and the hose to allow oxygen to go into the airflow. I could have died because the recovery nurse had no clue what a CPAP was for or how to set up one.