Surgery Day

[BigDaddy 9]

Can anyone give me a general idea of what to expect on surgery day? Thank you very much!

[Izuri 428]

I had my surgery early in the morning. I arrived at 6am and we turned in the durable power of attorney they'd given us and then waited for a bit. After about 15 minutes they called me back for blood work (My surgeon does pregnancy tests on all females of childbearing age on the day of surgery), which took maybe 5 minutes. Then they called me up for pre-op prepping and there they made me change into the gown with surgical cap and booties. I then laid down and they took my vitals, gave me a shot of Lovenox (Blood thinner), and asked me some more questions, basically just reaffirming that I had followed the pre-op diet the day before, that I hadn't been smoking or drinking or anything that would change whether they were ok doing surgery. Then they let my family come up to sit with me and answered any questions they had.

The surgeon then came in and talked with me, had me sign a couple consent forms, made sure I understood the risks. The anesthesiologist then came in, asked about any family history with anesthesia reactions, and asked if we had any questions. Once that was done they gave me something to 'calm me down' so probably just a sedative and took me off to the operating room. When I arrived in the operating room they had me help get myself on to the table and get situated and asked if I was comfortable. I needed a roll for under my back and that's the last thing I really remember because they put the gas on my face and I was out.

When I came to I was in the recovery room with two nurses talking about my vitals and I felt like it was difficult to breathe. They tried to explain to me that my oxygen saturation was at 100% and I was breathing fine, that it was just the CO2 from the surgery that was making it feel difficult. Apparently, I didn't believe them and kept trying to move myself up/kind of sit myself up in bed, but thankfully after a few minutes of them trying to get me to lay back and me telling them how nice they were, a person came to move me to my room. Once I was in my hospital room my family was able to come see me. They let me sit up and explained the pain pump to me. I am pretty sure I fell asleep pretty quick. During the first four hours or so they got me up walking and had me do breathing exercises every hour or two. A lot of the time was spent sleeping.

Overall, it was much less stressful than I thought it was going to be. I'd spent the whole week on high anxiety and it was really over in a flash.

[BigDaddy 9]

Thanks. That is actually VERY reassuring. I have been thinking about it a lot, and even more so as my surgery date gets closer!