Key points
- Going home: you leave the recovery room once you can walk with help, eat or drink something and your pain is under control, usually a few hours after surgery.
- Time off work: anywhere from a few days to four weeks, depending on your operation and your job.
- Activity: if it doesn’t hurt, it’s OK to do. After a hysterectomy, wait six weeks for intercourse, baths and swimming.
- Follow-up: most post-op visits are by video, so patients who travel to Los Angeles for surgery continue their follow-up from home.
How long does recovery take after endometriosis surgery?
Your recovery depends on how much endometriosis Dr. Raanan Meyer removes and whether your operation includes bowel or bladder surgery.
| Operation | Typical recovery | Why it takes this long |
|---|---|---|
| Laparoscopic excision, including removal of ovarian endometriomas | A week or two | Small incisions; most of the early discomfort comes from the surgical gas |
| Excision with bowel or bladder surgery | Two to four weeks | The repair to your bowel or bladder has to heal |
| Hysterectomy | Daily activities in about the same time as laparoscopic excision; six weeks for intercourse, baths and swimming | The incision at the top of your vagina has to heal |
| Open surgery (laparotomy) | Around four weeks | A larger incision through your abdominal wall |
Minor aches can come and go for a few weeks after that, usually not enough to stop normal activities.
What happens in the first days and weeks of recovery?
The first three days after laparoscopy are the most uncomfortable, and from day four most patients notice pain and bloating easing a little each day.
| When | What you may notice | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Day of surgery | Drowsiness from anesthesia and a few hours in the recovery room | Go home once an adult is there to drive you; eat as soon as you are hungry |
| Days 1 to 3 | Bloating and swelling from the carbon dioxide we use to inflate your abdomen, felt as soreness more than sharp pain. Shoulder pain, sometimes reaching into your chest, comes from gas irritating a nerve under your diaphragm; it can be intense for a day or two before it fades on its own (ACOG) | Short walks several times a day, which help the gas clear and your bowels start working |
| Days 4 to 14 | Tiredness, which can last ten days or longer after excision (Endometriosis UK) | Most normal activities |
| Weeks 2 to 4 | Less tiredness each week, including after bowel or bladder surgery | Full workdays and more physical work |
| Your first period after surgery | It may be more painful, longer or heavier than usual (Endometriosis UK) | Call us if you soak through a pad an hour for more than two hours in a row |
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How much time off-work do you need after endometriosis surgery?
You can go back to work whenever you feel ready. That can be a few days after surgery or up to four weeks, and your job makes the biggest difference:
- Desk or remote work: usually the earliest return, often within the first week or two after laparoscopic excision.
- Work on your feet, or a long commute: later in that range, since tiredness can last after the soreness has gone.
- Lifting or physical work: toward the end of the range, especially after bowel or bladder surgery or a hysterectomy.
When can you drive, exercise, have sex or take a bath?
After laparoscopic excision, our rule of thumb is: if it doesn’t hurt, it’s OK to do; if it hurts, don’t do that activity. Moving will not damage anything inside your abdomen. A hysterectomy is different, because the incision at the top of your vagina needs six weeks to heal.
| Activity | After laparoscopic excision | After a hysterectomy |
|---|---|---|
| Walking and stairs | From the day of surgery | From the day of surgery |
| Exercise | As soon as you feel up to it | Avoid anything that strains the incision at the top of your vagina: yoga, Pilates, squats with weights, horseback riding |
| Sex | As soon as you wish | Wait at least six weeks for intercourse; other forms of sex are fine, with nothing inside your vagina |
| Showers | Whenever you wish; your bandages can get wet | Whenever you wish |
| Baths and swimming pools | Usually whenever you wish | Wait six weeks |
| Driving | Not on the day of surgery, or while you are taking oxycodone | Not on the day of surgery, or while you are taking oxycodone |
What do we do to shorten your recovery?
Dr. Meyer operates laparoscopically or robotically whenever it is safe, and our team follows an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) pathway. In gynecologic surgery, ERAS pathways reduce pain and the need for pain medicine and restore bowel function sooner, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG, 2018).
- Small incisions: one in your navel and two to four more, usually 5-10 mm in size (about 1/5-2/5 inch).
- Clear fluids until two hours before surgery: water, Gatorade or black coffee, so you are not fasting overnight. Our preoperative instructions cover the rest of your preparation.
- Pain relief on a schedule: ibuprofen and acetaminophen together every six hours for the first two days, with oxycodone in between only if you need it. Most patients don’t even need oxycodone. A new pain medication, Suzetrigine (Journavx), may also be included.
- One operation when several organs are involved: when bowel, bladder, ureter or diaphragm are involved, our gynecologic, colorectal and, when needed, urologic and thoracic surgeons plan together and operate together. That means fewer staged procedures and faster, more predictable recovery.
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Traveling to Los Angeles for surgery?
Most out-of-state patients stay in Los Angeles for three to seven days:
- Arrival the day before your pre-op consultation.
- Surgery, then recovery days in Los Angeles with check-ins from our care team.
- An in-person or telemedicine post-op visit. You can fly home when you feel ready.
- Follow-up. We send your operative report, surgical photographs and pathology findings to you and your local OB-GYN.
Read how our out-of-state endometriosis surgery program works.
What follow-up care do you get after surgery?
- Post-op visit: you can book it before your surgery date, and most are done virtually.
- Photographs of your surgery: we take pictures during the surgery, give you a copy, and explain them in detail at your post-op visit.
- Pathology results: we send all tissue we remove to a pathologist, then message you on CS-Link, the Cedars-Sinai patient portal, when the results are ready and answer any questions about your recovery at the same time.
For medications, incision and bandage care, and constipation, see our postoperative instructions.
When should you call us after surgery?
Call (310) 388-1955 if you have any of the following. During the day our nurses answer; after hours, an answering service messages the medical team and we call you back.
- Fever above 100.4°F
- Vomiting more than once
- Shortness of breath
- Severe pain
- Heavy bleeding: soaking through a pad an hour for more than two hours in a row
- A full bladder you cannot empty
Why patients choose the Comprehensive Endometriosis Center for endometriosis surgery in Los Angeles
- Fellowship-trained at Cedars-Sinai: Dr. Raanan Meyer, Director of the Comprehensive Endometriosis Center, specializes in advanced minimally invasive excision of endometriosis.
- Double board-certified general and colorectal surgeons: Dr. Yosef Nasseri and Dr. Moshe Barnajian, both leaders in robotic surgery, operate on bowel endometriosis alongside Dr. Meyer.
- Excision only: our surgeons cut endometriosis out and do not perform ablation, which burns only the surface.
- Video consultations with Dr. Meyer, Dr. Nasseri and Dr. Barnajian, for patients who live outside Los Angeles.
Dr. Raanan Meyer is a leading minimally invasive endometriosis surgeon in Los Angeles who removes endometriosis through small incisions, laparoscopically or robotically, under an enhanced recovery pathway. When endometriosis has reached your bowel, Dr. Nasseri or Dr. Barnajian usually removes it during the same operation, sparing most patients a second anesthetic and a second recovery.
After laparoscopic excision, almost all of his patients go home the same day and are back to work, exercise and family life within a week or two. We see patients in the Cedars-Sinai medical district near Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.
Read more about Dr. Meyer and the surgeons who operate with him.
Book a Consultation or call (310) 388-1955.
Frequently asked questions
Is endometriosis surgery a major surgery?
Yes. It is done under general anesthesia, but most endometriosis excision is laparoscopic and almost all patients go home the same day. It becomes a larger operation, with a longer recovery, when your bowel or bladder needs surgery or when Dr. Meyer operates through an open incision.
How painful is recovery from endometriosis surgery?
Patients usually describe the first few days as soreness and bloating rather than sharp pain. Ibuprofen and acetaminophen every six hours for the first two days keep most of it under control, and shoulder pain from the gas usually fades within a few days.
How long should you rest after endometriosis surgery?
You do not need bed rest. Walk several times a day from the day of surgery, a little farther each day; it helps your circulation, your bowels and your energy.
Sources
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 750: Perioperative Pathways: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2018. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30134426/
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Laparoscopy (patient FAQ). https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/laparoscopy
- Endometriosis UK. Your laparoscopy. https://www.endometriosis-uk.org/your-laparoscopy