Preparing for Surgery
Preparing mentally and physically for surgery is very important.
This will help you recover more quickly and have fewer problems after your procedure.
Important tips
- Before your surgery please discuss any medical conditions that could interfere with your procedure.
- We need to know if you have any allergies or previous medical problems, especially heart and lung conditions or Deep Vein Thrombosis.
- Discuss any medications you are taking with your General Practitioner, Dr Allen, your anaesthetist and the nurses at the preadmission clinic (if you are asked to attend). There may be some which you will be asked to stop taking before surgery.
- Don’t forget to bring all your x-rays (current and old) to every appointment and to your surgery.
- If you are overweight, losing weight before surgery will help decrease the stress on your system, speed your recovery and make the anaesthetic safer.
- If you are taking aspirin, anti-inflammatory medications or anticoagulants, you may need to stop taking them up to ten days before surgery to minimize bleeding. Check this at the preadmission clinic or with Dr Allen.
- If you smoke, you should stop smoking to reduce your anaesthetic and surgical risks. Smokers have higher complication rates including infection and delayed healing rates for wounds and bone. The Tweed Hospital and Murwillumbah Hospitals are Smoke free hospitals. Check their smoking policy here: Smoking info.
- Please have any dental, bladder or bowel problems treated before surgery to reduce the risk of infection later.
- Eat a well-balanced diet.
- Report any infections, no matter how trivial they may seem to you. Elective surgery may be delayed until infections have cleared up.
Meet Dr. Philip Allen
Book an appointment
Please call (07) 5536 1177 to book an appointment or use the online booking form.
Home preparation
Arrange for someone to help you when you get home with everyday tasks like cooking, housekeeping, shopping and laundry.
Put items that you use often within easy reach before surgery so you won’t have to reach and bend as often.
Remove all loose carpets and tape down electrical cords to avoid falls. Rearrange furniture if necessary to allow you to move around more freely. If you have stairs in the home it may be of benefit to move a bed downstairs for a while.
Preparing for surgery
If you are having Day Surgery have someone available to take you home – you will not be able to drive for at least 24 hours because of the anaesthetic.
Do not drink or eat anything in the car on the trip home – The combination of anaesthesia, food and car motion can 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. Do not wait until you are in severe pain. If you wait until the pain is severe to take your pain medication you will have more difficulty controlling the pain.
If you have any questions please call our rooms. If you have an urgent problem out of office hours, please contact the hospital where your surgery was performed.
