Hi, I'm Kayla, a respiratory therapist with Alberta Health Services.

I'm going to explain what I can do for you after your surgery.

Your doctor may have a respiratory therapist like me come and assess you after your surgery, even if you don't have breathing problems.

My job is to keep your lungs healthy after surgery.

This can mean: giving you oxygen therapy; using the pulse oximeter to watch your oxygen levels; and showing you how to use the incentive spirometer to open up your lungs.

If these words are new to you, don't worry, all you need to do is breathe.

When you get to your hospital room after surgery, you'll probably be getting oxygen through a nasal cannula, a device that sends oxygen right to your nose through two small tubes.

That's because at first, after surgery, you may not be breathing as deeply as you normally do.

Giving you extra oxygen helps get more oxygen to your blood.

If you don't have a history of breathing problems, we'll start taking you off the oxygen as soon as possible.

To know how much extra oxygen you need after surgery, we use a machine called the pulse oximeter.

This machine measures how much oxygen is in your blood.

We also call this your oxygen saturation level, or your O2 Sat.

To measure your O2 Sat, we put a small probe on your finger.

Your reading will be right here on this machine, along with your heart rate.

If you're O2 Sat stays above 92%, you probably don't need extra oxygen.

We'll use the pulse oximeter until you are no longer on IV pain medicine.

That's because these medicines can slow down your breathing, and we want to make sure you're getting enough oxygen.

The machine in the room shows your numbers, but sometimes your numbers are also sent to the nursing desk.

This way, nurses can watch your oxygen levels even when they aren't in the room with you.

Whenever you're in pain or not moving around as much as usual, you may take shallow breaths.

This often happens after surgery and can cause lung problems like pneumonia.

But there's a simple breathing exercise you can do to lower your risk of lung problems.

You do this exercise using a device called an incentive spirometer.

Here's how you use the incentive spirometer. Don't worry if you don't remember all the steps. We'll go over this with you after your surgery.

First, put your lips around the mouthpiece and make a nice tight seal.

Breathe out normally.

Next, take a deep breath and fill your lungs. Taking a slow, steady breath in will make the disc or ball inside the spirometer rise.

Try to hold the disc or ball at the top for a second, then breathe out and relax.

Now do it again.

Taking slow breaths keeps the air in your lungs longer, which helps you to open up your lungs.

Try to use the incentive spirometer for about 10 breaths every hour that you're awake.

When you're ready, you can try using the dial to up the resistance and make the exercise a bit more challenging.

Your respiratory therapist will help you when you first start using the incentive spirometer.

If you need more help, feel free to ask your nurse.

We want to help you have the fastest recovery you can, so please don't forget to use the incentive spirometer after surgery.

Remember just 10 breaths every hour while you're awake.

You can do it.

Thanks for joining me.

I hope you have a safe and speedy recovery.
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