pre op appointment

[KimA-GA 540]

just wanted to share my pre op appointment experience!

i got to the appointment. they weighed me and had to sign a lot of paperwork. they went over again my pre op diet and post op diet. they went over the medication i was going to take prior to surgery and what pain med i would be discharged with. I found out that he is having me stay one night in the hospital ( outpatient was a possibility) The surgeon came in and I asked a couple questions which he answered.

then i was sent to another part of the hospital to do pre op registration, blood work and an ekg.

was a busy afternoon! my appointment was at 220 and i walked out of the hospital around 5 pm.

[KimA-GA 540]

oh, bloodwork was

cbc

comprehensive metabolic panel

a1c

[ShoppGirl 4,806]

Mine was different but similar in that i did a lot of paperwork. It was in the dr’s office. They had me watch a video and fill out a questionnaire to make sure I understood the surgery. Asked if I had any questions about anything and then went over the surgical soap for pre surgery and the meds for post surgery. She talked a lot about Constipation which I found odd at the time but totally get it now. I had already done my labs and they didn’t think I needed ekg at that point but the morning of surgery I think it was the anesthesiologist I mentioned I had a heart murmur when I was born and he ordered an EKG to be done pre surgery. This wasn’t a big deal cause they had to rush a blood pregnancy test anyways cause I couldn’t pee a drop for the urine test. Even still I was in surgery pretty quickly, the miracle of that word STAT.

Edited October 26, 2022 by ShoppGirl

[SpartanMaker 777]

Sounds a lot like mine!

It was about a week before surgery and took about 4 hours total. Started with a pre-op review with a Nurse Anesthetist, followed by lab work, final weigh-in, as well as a BIA scan on their In-Body scale. After that, I had another quick review of the post-op diet, and a review with the nurse educator on what to expect between then and my surgery date. We we also reviewed the general post-op plan, though she said she'd see me again in the hospital (I did), and that we'd review it all again at that time (we did). Finally I met with my surgeon and got to ask whatever questions I had.

[KimA-GA 540]

20 minutes ago, SpartanMaker said:

Sounds a lot like mine!

It was about a week before surgery and took about 4 hours total. Started with a pre-op review with a Nurse Anesthetist, followed by lab work, final weigh-in, as well as a BIA scan on their In-Body scale. After that, I had another quick review of the post-op diet, and a review with the nurse educator on what to expect between then and my surgery date. We we also reviewed the general post-op plan, though she said she'd see me again in the hospital (I did), and that we'd review it all again at that time (we did). Finally I met with my surgeon and got to ask whatever questions I had.

i was surprised that they didn’t have surgical soap protocol. i am doing it anyway (already got my hibclens) just to be safer! also making sure i have fresh sheets etc the night before

[ShoppGirl 4,806]

7 minutes ago, KimA-GA said:

i was surprised that they didn’t have surgical soap protocol. i am doing it anyway (already got my hibclens) just to be safer! also making sure i have fresh sheets etc the night before

Yea also use fresh bath towels if you reuse them.

[SpartanMaker 777]

1 hour ago, KimA-GA said:

i was surprised that they didn’t have surgical soap protocol. i am doing it anyway (already got my hibclens) just to be safer! also making sure i have fresh sheets etc the night before

My plan did have me do hibiclens both the night before and morning of. They provided two 4oz bottles as well as a lovely pink scrubbie. They also gave me a bottle of alcohol-free mouthwash and wanted me to use that instead of my regular one. Apparently they claim it's a fire hazard. News to me!

I also had to self-isolate for 2 days between my covid test and surgery. I thought that one was a bit odd in that my wife was going to be my driver, would be allowed in the hospital room with me, and would be my helper post-surgery. If she just happened to have covid, isolating for the 2 days between the test and surgery wasn't going to protect me or the medical team.

[KimA-GA 540]

14 hours ago, SpartanMaker said:

They also gave me a bottle of alcohol-free mouthwash and wanted me to use that instead of my regular one. Apparently they claim it's a fire hazard. News to me!

never thought about that, either!!! wow

self isolating sounds a bit much, especially from your driver! I don’t even need a covid test unless i have symptoms or known exposure of verified positive

[ShoppGirl 4,806]

14 hours ago, SpartanMaker said:

My plan did have me do hibiclens both the night before and morning of. They provided two 4oz bottles as well as a lovely pink scrubbie. They also gave me a bottle of alcohol-free mouthwash and wanted me to use that instead of my regular one. Apparently they claim it's a fire hazard. News to me!

I also had to self-isolate for 2 days between my covid test and surgery. I thought that one was a bit odd in that my wife was going to be my driver, would be allowed in the hospital room with me, and would be my helper post-surgery. If she just happened to have covid, isolating for the 2 days between the test and surgery wasn't going to protect me or the medical team.

Well I guess there is always gonna be some risk short of putting you and your team in isolation for weeks before the surgery but cutting your exposure lessened the risk quite a bit. I am guessing that’s the point. It’s Interesting to see what the precautions are for COVID for the different parts of the world. I didn’t even have a COVID test. And I was told I didn’t need a mask in my hospital room either. I wore one cause I didn’t want to do COVID while recovering from surgery but that was my choice. Everyone else wore one so I was probably just fine realistically but It made me feel better.