Before The Surgery
What happens before my surgery date?
Once listed for surgery, you will be given a date to attend the pre-operative assessment clinic. The pre-operative assessment clinic gives the team an opportunity to make sure you are fit enough for the anaesthetic and the surgery.
They will want to review your medications so please bring these with you. If you are taking any blood thinning medications (such as aspirin, clopidogrel, or warfarin), these will need to be stopped a few days before your surgery, and you will be given special instructions regarding these.
In the clinic your blood pressure will be checked, you will have blood tests, have swabs to look for MRSA, and we may need to listen to your chest and do a tracing of your heart (ECG).
Once cleared by pre-operative assessment, the admissions coordinator will contact you and give you the date of your admission to hospital (usually the day of the surgery, or in special circumstances the day before).
What should I bring into Hospital?
Please bring with you:
- All tablets, medicines or inhalers that you have been prescribed (including those stopped prior to surgery) with the exception of Temazepam and Pethidine. Please ensure that all medication is in the original packaging, labelled with your name. Please do not mix tablets or bring them in your own tablet dispenser tray or dosette box from your local pharmacy
- Personal items – including night clothes, dressing gown and slippers, bedjacket or shawl.
- Comfortable day clothes
- Your spectacles (labelled with your name)
- Denture pot (as you will be asked to remove any false teeth)
- Toiletry items (toothbrush, toothpaste, flannel, soap, shampoo, shaving equipment, comb or hairbrush etc).
- Mobile phone – please use with consideration for other patients and keep on silent.
- Tissues and baby wipes
- Proof of entitlement to free travel costs if appropriate
- Items of religious importance to you
- Your hearing aid
- Sanitary products such as tampons
- Mobility aids such as a walking stick or frame
- Some money to purchase newspapers or to use the telephone
- Books, magazines, knitting
- Writing paper and pen
- Non perishable snacks, squash
- Large amounts of money or credit cards
- Large bags or suitcases, as bed space is limited
- Food that needs reheating (we cannot reheat food for infection control reasons)
- Jewellery or valuables
- Large bags or suitcases, as bed space is limited
- Electrical items such as hairdryers, electric razors
- Food that needs reheating (we cannot reheat food for infection control reasons)
What do I do on the day of my surgery?
All patients need to fast for 6 hours (for solid food) before any anaesthesia or sedation is administered. You may drink clear liquids like Water, Black Coffee or Black Tea up to two hours before the operation. Please do not chew gum or eat sweets. Milk, fizzy drinks (including Red Bull and Lucozade), fruit juice or milky tea/coffee are not allowed.
Please follow the advice of the Hospital Pharmacist (or Anaesthetist or Pre-op Assessment nurse) regarding taking or stopping your routine medication before the operation. Please bring all your medicines with you to the hospital
If you are using any devices (eg. CPAP machine), please bring it with you. You may need it whilst in the hospital
If you are having spinal anaesthetic, we may allow you to listen to your own music. You may wish to bring your own iPod (or similar device) and ear piece You will be expected to attend the ward shown on your letter at the specific time indicated.
Prior to surgery a nurse will take you to your bed where health checks and a nursing assessment will be completed. You will be given a gown, underwear and stockings to change into, however you will remain in your own clothes until the theatre team are ready to start your operation. This may be some hours after your arrival.
You will meet the Orthopaedic team undertaking the surgery. They will ask several questions about the symptoms and examine your knee, and then draw an arrow on the side of the surgery (using a thick black marker). They will then consent you for the surgery, and answer any questions that you may have. The team may also ask you to partake in research that may be running alongside the surgery (they will give you further information about their research separately). Once all the checks have been done, and it is your turn for surgery, you will be escorted to the operating theatre.
