Preparing for Surgery and Anesthesia
What can I do to prepare myself for Surgery and Anesthesia?
Before Surgery:
After your surgeon has scheduled your surgery, you may be asked to have a preoperative interview with the surgical liaison nurse and/or the anesthesiologist. They will ask you questions about your health history including:
- Allergies
- Medications you take routinely
- Previous surgeries you have had
- Problems you have had with anesthesia in the past
- Problems your blood relatives may have had with anesthesia
- Present medical problems
- Smoking history
- Alcohol use
- Street drug use
- Over the counter medications or vitamin supplements
Please answer all questions thoroughly and honestly. Your anesthesiologist will plan your anesthesia based upon the information you give.
- If you are unsure of the names of your medications, bring them with you for your preoperative interview or when you come for surgery.
- Stop smoking at least six to eight weeks prior to surgery.
- Usually, you should stop all aspirin or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) products one week prior to surgery. Speak to your physician about this before you stop taking them.
Day of Surgery:
- NPO (Translated, this means nothing by mouth):
On the morning of surgery, you should have nothing to eat or drink (after midnight prior to surgery). You may brush your teeth or rinse your mouth, but you should not eat or drink anything. If, however, you routinely take medications for your Blood Pressure or Heart in the morning, you should take your usual medications with a sip of water. (Discuss this with you surgeon or anesthesiologist.)
- Wear loose clothing that is easy to take off and put on.
- Be available. If your case starts late in the day, be available to come in earlier if called. Occasionally a case before you may be cancelled and you may be called to come in early.
- Have someone available to bring you to surgery and take you home after surgery. If you are having outpatient surgery, in which you will go home after surgery, you will not be able to drive yourself home. Some facilities will cancel your surgery if you do not have a person available to drive you home.
- If you take medications at home, bring the bottles with you to surgery. Your Anesthesiologist may need to look at them to make sure the correct medicines are listed on your record.
If you are having Outpatient Surgery, remember the following:
- Have someone available to take you home, you will not be able to drive for at least 24 hours.
- Do Not drink or eat anything in the car on the trip home. The combination of anesthesia, food, and car motion can quite often cause nausea or vomiting.
- After arriving home, wait until you are hungry before trying to eat. Begin with a light meal and try to avoid greasy food for the first 24 hours.
- If you had surgery on an extremity (arm, hand, leg, knee, foot), keep that extremity elevated and use ice as directed. This will help decrease swelling and pain.
- Take your pain medicine as directed. Begin the pain medicine as you start getting uncomfortable, but before you are in severe pain. If you wait to take your pain medication until the pain is severe, you will have more difficulty controlling the pain.
- If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call the surgery center or your physician's office.
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