Planning your surgery

Be sure you know where and at what time you need to be in the hospital.

If you have any pre-existing medical problems, are over age 60 or have been admitted to another hospital in the last year we will arrange for you to be seen by the pre-assessment team in the relevant hospital. This is to check routine blood tests, arrange a chest x-ray and an ecg if needed. X-rays and CT scans maybe arranged. Swabs are also taken for MRSA screening.

If you have significant Medical problems and are under the care of another physician we will either contact them directly re safety to proceed advice. Often we will ask you to schedule an appointment with them yourself to get an up to date assessment of your condition. In general you take your regular medication on the day of surgery with a sip of water. There are some medications that need to be stopped. You should be made aware of this in preoperative assessment.

If there are any doubts please ring the office before the day of surgery. Do not stop aspirin.

All other blood thinners such as warfarin Xarelto, Plavix etc need to be stopped prior to surgery. The duration off the blood thinners and when to restart should all be clear. In the week before surgery please try and reduce the amount of strong pain relief you are taking for example Targin, oxycontin, Oxynorm, DF118, other codeine or morphine based pain relief. This makes your postoperative care easier and safer for you.

If in the week prior to surgery you feel unwell for example have developed a bad cold or the flu or have experienced a worsening of your COPD or cardiac condition please let us know as soon as possible and we will postpone your surgery until you are better. If you have an active infection anywhere in the body in the week before surgery please let us know and we will postpone surgery.

If you are due to have a shoulder replacement please make sure you have seen your dentist in the month before surgery to make sure there is no active dental infection.

The night before surgery

– Make out a list of your Medical problems, Previous major surgeries, Medication and Allergies for the admitting team.

–  Take a shower or bath the night before surgery.

– Do not eat or drink anything from midnight the night before surgery unless instructed otherwise. A sip of water with your permitted medications is allowed.

– Bring an overnight bag with tooth paste, tooth brush, pyjamas, a dressing gown, slippers, your phone charger and a change of outdoor clothes.