Before Your Operation: What You Need to Know
It is common to feel nervous before surgery. While there are risks involved in any operation, it is important for you to feel calm, and confident in your surgeons. This pamphlet will help you prepare for your procedure.
You will meet with several doctors pre-op to discuss the details of your operation. Surgical preparation depends on the patient and the procedure. A heart transplant is quite a different operation than the resection of a lung tumor or gall bladder excision. In any case, an anesthesiologist will speak to you about being put to sleep during the operation. You will likely be under anesthesia the entire time you are in the operation room.
Surgeons have many tools to help them perform their tasks. Be assured these tools are sterile, with replaceable parts changed between each operation. Scalpels help surgeons make very precise incisions and other cuts, while clamps temporarily hold things together. When you wake up, you will have sutures holding your incisions together. Your surgeon will tell you when these can be removed.
After the operation you will awake in the recovery room to begin the post-op healing process. This will involve regular medication and follow-up visits to your surgeon and other doctors.
