Hi all and apologies for disrupting your correspondence, but I cannot help but think of this possibility, however unlikely it may seem, and that is the financial interests of the surgeon. So, does he charge you for doing the packings (ie. for anything after the surgery itself), or is it all free ever since he did the surgery?
Once again sorry for even thinking about that, but I've heard of similar situations before where doctors would try make their patients visit them unnecessarily or for longer than actually required.