Excision Surgery Recovery Kit
This is what I actually reached for after my second excision surgery. Out of everything I bought — and everything I spent four weeks wishing I'd had the first time around — these 19 are the ones I used.
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1
A support person, actually scheduled
Not a product
Someone who can physically help lift you out of bed, booked and off work — not just "around if you need me." It's the most important thing on this whole list.
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2
Soups, made ahead
Whatever you can freeze and reheat in one pot
Even with someone home to help, nobody wants to cook. Make a batch before you go in so no one has to decide anything — soup goes down when nothing else appeals, and it keeps fluids going in while your gut wakes back up.
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3
Bidet attachment
LUXE Bidet NEO 185·~$50·budget SAMODRA Ultra-Slim·~$30
The most important thing you can buy, and the one that has to be installed before you need it. No twisting, no reaching, no wiping a sore body. Ten minutes to fit, no plumber and no electricity, and it's the item on this list I'd keep forever regardless of surgery.
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4
Extra-large heating pad
Pure Enrichment PureRelief XL, 12"×24"·~$38·or the cheaper GENIANI XL·~$27
The gas they inflate your abdomen with settles under your shoulder blades, so you want one big enough to reach your shoulder and still cover your stomach. Get the 12×24, not a small one.
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5
Wedge pillow or a full body pillow
Kolbs Bed Wedge Pillow·~$40·or Oubonun Full Body Pillow·~$33
Your abs are how you normally sit up and they're out of commission. A wedge props you upright without using them; a body pillow does more for side-lying and for bracing your stomach when you cough or laugh. Plenty of people end up wanting both.
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6
Toilet squat stool
Squatty Potty Original, 7"·~$33
Changes your position so there's less straining, which is the thing you most want to avoid with fresh abdominal incisions. If your surgery involves any bowel work, run it past your surgeon.
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7
Simethicone for gas
Gas-X Extra Strength chewables·~$15
For the gas pain that has nothing to do with what you ate. Check it against everything else you'll be taking.
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8
Peppermint gum — contains caffeine
Neuro Energy & Focus Gum, Peppermint, 90 ct·~$31·40 mg caffeine per piece
For the trapped gas, and one of the few things here with real research behind it — studies on laparoscopic surgery found chewing gum brought on first gas about four hours sooner. The chewing is what does the work, so plain sugar-free peppermint gets you the same benefit without the caffeine.
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9
Peppermint tea
Traditional Medicinals Organic Peppermint·~$6
The most-mentioned thing for the trapped-gas stretch. Warm, soothing, and it gets fluids into you when nothing else appeals.
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10
Water bottle with a straw and a handle
The straw is the point — you can drink without sitting up. The handle matters too, since you'll be moving it one-handed.
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11
Electrolytes
Thorne Daily Electrolytes, 30 stick packs·~$40
Your appetite may disappear for days, and sipping something is genuinely all you'll manage. Thorne is third-party tested with no added sugar, which is why it's the one I keep around.
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12
100% cotton button-front pajamas
COLORFULLEAF 100% Cotton Pajama Set·~$33
Two things matter here. The waistband has to sit well below your incisions, and the top has to button — pulling anything over your head is exactly what your shoulders won't want to do. Real cotton, because you may run warm and you'll be in these for weeks.
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13
100% cotton robe
COLORFULLEAF 100% Cotton Short-Sleeve Robe·~$40
Nothing to step into or pull up, and easy to open for anyone checking your incisions. It's also what makes answering the door or walking to the kitchen feel possible. Skip the waffle-knit ones marketed as cotton — most are a polyester blend.
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14
Digital oral thermometer
Boncare 10-Second Oral Thermometer·~$6
Your discharge papers will give you a temperature to call the doctor about, and you need a way to actually check it. Cheapest genuinely useful thing here.
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15
Throat lozenges
Chloraseptic or plain honey lozenges·~$6
You get a breathing tube under general anesthesia and your throat is raw afterward. This matters far more than it sounds: coughing was one of the most painful things I felt in the whole recovery because of the incisions, and sneezing is just as bad. A dry, scratchy throat makes you cough. Do not let it get dry.
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16
Magnesium glycinate
Rest — Magnesium Glycinate·~$30·my own brand
The form matters more than the brand here. Citrate and oxide pull water into the bowel; glycinate is the gentle one, and it's what people take for sleep and cramping rather than for moving things along. This one is mine, so weigh it accordingly — and which form you actually want depends on what you're after, so ask rather than guess.
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17
Silicone scar sheets
ScarAway Advanced Clear Silicone Sheets·~$15
For the incision scars once they've fully closed, which is usually weeks out. Nothing goes on an incision before your surgeon says it can.
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18
Red light panel
BestQool 660nm + 850nm Panel·~$189·smaller Comfytemp mat·~$68
Being straight with you: I use one and I like it, and the research on red light for surgical recovery is thin, so I'm not going to tell you it heals anything. It's here because it's part of my own routine in the later weeks. Not on fresh incisions, and not before you're cleared.
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19
Gut support for after the antibiotics
Root — Daily Gut + Hormone Foundation·~$38·my own brand
Surgery means antibiotics, anesthesia and weeks of eating nothing like you normally do. My digestion took longer to come back than anything else did, and it's the part of recovery I ended up building a company around — Root is digestive enzymes, a probiotic strain and prebiotic fiber. This one is mine, so weigh it accordingly.
I'm not a doctor. This is what I use and what other endo patients consistently recommend — your surgeon's instructions override all of it.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Prices were accurate when this was published and will drift.