When can I drive, bathe, and return to work after an operation?

After surgery, the question that comes up in every language is the same: when can I drive again, swim, return to work, resume sports? The answers exist, but they are scattered across documents from hospitals, learned societies, and health insurance companies that no one reads side by side. This page brings them all together.

Each recommendation below was taken from an identified, dated, and linked document. When two institutions disagree, both responses are displayed. When a source remains silent, it is noted: the absence of a response is useful information , explaining why you cannot find it anywhere.

90 recommendations were recorded , including 78 values ​​with a number and 12 without a number , plus 19 documented omissions . These came from 12 institutional sources in 3 countries, covering 17 interventions and 10 activities. Documents accessed on 29/08/2026.

The complete matrix

One line per intervention, one column per activity. A dot indicates cells where the sources disagree. A dash indicates that none of the consulted sources offer an opinion.

When multiple sources encrypt the same cell, the matrix displays the most concise encrypted timeframe. Details, including each citation and link, are provided below.

Where the sources disagree

Sixteen boxes in the reference guide receive different answers depending on the institution consulted. These are the most useful to know before asking your surgeon: if the institutions themselves differ, it means the answer depends on your situation, not on a universal rule.

The framework, intervention by intervention

Each line contains the original quote, in its language, and a link to the document. Quotes are never automatically translated: that would change their meaning.

All interventions: the general rules

What the sources say when they are not talking about a specific operation.

To learn more: Bathing after an operation.

Cataract surgery

The most commonly performed procedure in the world. Sources differ on whether it is safe for swimming.

To learn more: Recovery after cataract surgery.

Inguinal hernia treatment

One of the rare interventions for which a public health insurance company quantifies each activity.

To learn more: Inguinal hernia surgery: the guide.

Circumcision (child)

Two British teaching hospitals, two different answers on swimming.

Total hip replacement

The most documented, and most contradictory, case on driving.

Knee prosthesis

The only intervention on this page where the source distinguishes between total and partial prosthesis for driving.

Hysterectomy

The French source distinguishes three surgical approaches, the British source none.

Cesarean

Many "about six weeks" estimates, few firm figures.

Gallbladder removal (laparoscopy)

A source that replaces the time frame with a functional criterion.

To learn more: After gallbladder removal.

Appendectomy

A university hospital that admits not to providing figures, and says so.

Tonsillectomy (child)

Two hospitals agree on the duration, disagree on the reason.

Carpal tunnel surgery

The most dramatic difference in accuracy between a British source and a French source.

Meniscus surgery

The timeframes vary drastically depending on whether you remove or repair.

Thyroid surgery

The most comprehensive document in the repository: almost no empty cells.

Vasectomy

Twenty-four hours of rest, and a delay that has nothing to do with healing.

Coronary bypass

The longest delays, and the only ones related to the type of permit.

Corneal transplant

The longest bathing time in the reference document, and the only one accompanied by an equipment requirement.

Liposuccion

The previous reference document disappeared from the web in August 2026. This one replaces it: it imposes four weeks of compression and makes no pronouncement on driving, working, or swimming.

The same topic, activity by activity

The reference document provides the timeframes. These pages explain what governs them: healing, pain, reflexes, legal framework.

• Bathing after an operation
• Driving after an operation
• Duration of sick leave after an operation
• Resuming sports after an operation

Reuse and cite this reference

Unless otherwise stated, the dataset structure, labels, and text specific to GuideChirurgie are placed under CC BY 4.0. The field citation_origine and other third-party content is excluded from this license and remains subject to the rights and licenses of their owners.

The quotes from the national NHS website contain public sector information under Open Government Licence v3.0, retrieved on 29/08/2026. This license does not extend to NHS Foundation Trusts, whose documents are subject to their own terms and conditions: extracts from these are used under the short quotation. The field licence_citation The CSV and JSON files indicate, line by line, which license applies.

The raw data is downloadable and machine-readable: CSV file and JSON file . Each record includes the intervention, activity, time, original citation, establishment, country, document URL and consultation date.

How this page is made

This is a statement, not an opinion. The method consists of five rules, and they are intentionally strict.

1. Only one origin is accepted: A document published by a hospital, university hospital, learned society, public health insurance provider, or national health service. No blogs, commercial clinics, or aggregators.
2. The value or criterion must be written in black and white. in the document. Nothing is rounded, nothing is deduced from an average, nothing is translated from one source to another.
3. The original quote is displayed in its language, next to the deadline. You can check each line with one click. Quotations are never automatically translated: that would change their meaning.
4. Silence is also published. When a source says nothing about an activity, the line exists and indicates this. It's often the answer to the question "why can't I find this anywhere?"
5. Each statement is dated. The recommendations change. The consultation date is shown on the page, and the documents are rechecked periodically.

What this page does not do

It doesn't decide between two conflicting sources, it doesn't calculate averages, and it doesn't make any recommendations. A timeframe published by a British hospital for a British patient is not a guideline for you: it gives you a general idea and, most importantly, a specific question to ask your surgeon , who is the only one who knows your procedure, your surgical technique, and your healing process.

What the survey already shows

Three things stand out clearly. French sources provide more detailed figures than British sources, distinguishing between the surgical procedure and the type of employment, whereas national websites offer a single range. Hospital records are more precise than those of the national health services, even though the latter are far more widely read. And the least documented activities are precisely those most frequently searched for: swimming being the most common.

Automatic source control

A script reopens each document and verifies that the quoted sentence is still there, word for word. This protects the page against two problems: broken links and recommendations that change without warning.

Last check on August 29, 2026: 87 out of 88 citations found in their original document, 25 out of 26 documents accessible. 1 document rejects automated queries and requires manual verification.

This check has already proven useful: it detected that a plastic surgery record cited in an earlier version had disappeared from the institution's website. It was replaced with a current document, and the lines it didn't cover were removed rather than kept without a source.

An error, a missing source?

If a deadline has changed, if a link is broken, or if you know of an institutional document that covers an empty field, please write to contact@guidechirurgie.fr . Corrections will be incorporated and dated.

The sources, in their entirety

12 institutions, 3 countries, 26 documents. The list will grow: each new source added is dated and verifiable.