Still hurting months after surgery? A guide for Veterans

Before your appointment

You had surgery to address a problem. Now the incision has healed, but pain still interrupts your sleep or makes everyday tasks difficult. It is reasonable to ask what is happening and what comes next.

Persistent pain deserves an assessment. It does not, by itself, tell you whether surgery failed. Your team needs to consider healing, nerve-related pain, the condition you had before surgery, and possible complications.

When does pain after surgery become chronic?

Chronic postsurgical pain generally means pain that began or increased after surgery, continues beyond expected healing for at least three months, and is not better explained by another cause. Infection and an existing pain condition are among the possibilities clinicians consider. Three months is a definition, not a reason to wait for help. Clinical definition.

Contact your surgical team sooner if pain is worsening, feels different, or keeps you from following your recovery plan. Ask what level of pain and function they expect at this stage of your particular operation.

Give your team more than a pain number

A number can be useful, but it leaves out much of your day. Before an appointment, write down:

• Where it hurts: At the incision, farther away, or in a different place than before surgery?
• What it feels like: Aching, burning, shooting, tingling, or painful to light touch?
• What has changed: Better, worse, or about the same over the past week?
• What pain interrupts: Sleep, getting dressed, walking to the mailbox, or your prescribed exercises?
• What you have tried: Medicines, therapy, and other measures, including what helped and any side effects.

These observations give your clinician specific information to investigate. They do not diagnose the cause on their own.

You can start with: “I had surgery on [date]. My pain is now [description], and it is stopping me from [activity]. Can we review the cause and agree on the next step?”

Ask who will manage follow-up

If your surgeon and VA primary care clinician work in different systems, ask who will review your pain, manage medicines, and receive your discharge summary. Keep a copy of your medication list and follow-up instructions so you can share the same information with both teams.

If another specialist is needed, ask your VA team about the referral process. For routine Community Care, VA must approve care before you receive it; scheduling a visit yourself does not establish coverage. VA referral guidance.

What could the next plan include?

An assessment may lead to a combination of approaches. Ask which options fit your diagnosis and surgical restrictions, whether rehabilitation or a pain specialist would help, and how you will judge progress. Pick a practical goal to discuss, such as sleeping longer or returning to an activity you miss.

Ask for a follow-up date, too: “If this plan is not helping, when should I contact you again?”

Symptoms that need prompt attention

Seek urgent assessment for rapidly worsening pain, new weakness, fever, or new trouble urinating or controlling your bladder or bowel. These should not be assumed to be ordinary chronic pain. Follow your discharge instructions for other procedure-specific warning signs. NIH pain guidance.

Your next step: Bring your symptom notes and medication list to your surgical team or VA primary care appointment. Ask for an explanation, a next step, and a named contact for follow-up.

Educational information; your surgical team’s instructions and individual treatment plan take priority.

Your next step

For help navigating services, read chronic pain care through VA and the Community Care referral checklist.

Source video

Developed from themes in Chronic Post-Surgical Pain: Mechanisms, Prevention & Management, uploaded by Dr MEK Medical Education. Relevant caption sections: 00:58–01:28, 05:58–07:54, and 24:37–25:04. The video uses an older two-month definition; this article uses the separately cited three-month definition. Video content was reviewed through automatic captions, not audiovisual playback.