Pain after hysterectomy

My 83 year old mother underwent a complete hysterectomy two weeks ago to remove malignant tumors on her ovarus and uterus.  She is experiencing a lot of abdominal pain; she is receiving pain killers including morphine - and seems to have highs and lows of alertness and pain free periods. Is this normal? How long will this last? Is the pain a result of removing the organs - they have done a sonogram in the past few days which indicates nothing amiss.

[Annekathryn Goodman, M.D.]

Hi Michelle,

There are several reasons for pain after surgery.
First it is important to get more details about the pain
where is it?
is it constant or does it wax and wane?
is the pain related to eating, urination, bowel movements?
is the pain present at rest or only with movement

what else is going on?
fever
nausea vomiting
depression

what is the physical exam like?
incision - any redness or drainage
abdomen - any distension
back any flank tenderness?

So in general,
pain related to the incision is usually gone by 1 to 2 weeks
gas pain related to the bowels starting to function again after surgery can last up to a month

abnormal conditions causing  pain:
wound infection
unrecognized hip fracture
neuropathy from pressure on a nerve
urinary tract infection
injury to the ureter (the tube that brings the urine from the kidney to the bladder)
intestinal obstruction

you should sit down with her doctor and go over these issues. Her doctor will be  able to best assess if her pain is normal postop issues or a complicated problem
best wishes