Before surgery you may be referred for pre-operative investigations, such as blood tests, ECG and x-rays.
Your will be notified of your arrival and surgery time one(1) week and/or two(2) days prior to your surgery date either by EMAIL or PHONE. Arrival time will generally be one to two hours prior to the surgical start time.
Fasting and Medications: NOTHING to eat or drink (nothing by mouth) past midnight (12:00am) the night before your surgery. Continue to take the following medications while fasting.
(Take your medication with only a SIP of water on the day of your surgery.)
Do not take any other medications (including over-the-counter drugs and vitamins) except for the ones listed above. Please follow the instructions below if you are on any of the following medications. If you have questions about your medications, please talk to your family doctor or pharmacist.
Aspirin or anti-inflammatory medications: You will need to stop taking these 7 to 10 days before surgery to minimize bleeding. Panadol and Panadeine, Tylenol or Tylenol #3 or other equivalents are safe to take and do not prolong bleeding and may be continued.
Blood Thinners/Anticoagulants: If you are taking blood thinners such as Plavix, Iscover, Clopidogrel or Warfarin, Coumadin, etc. these will need to be stopped 7 days prior to the surgery date. Bleeding can be uncontrollable on these medications, and your surgery will be cancelled if these medications have not been stopped. Please discuss the potential need for sort acting bridging therapies with your family physician or hematologist in advance of your surgery date. (i.e low molecular weight heparin)
Insulin Dependant Diabetics: (i.e. Gyburide, Metformin, Insulin)
If you are unsure whether to stop any other medications you might be on please discuss this with your family physician as they can help manage which medications should be stopped prior to surgery.
Please consider having any tooth, gum, bladder or bowel problems treated before surgery to reduce the risk of infection after an orthopaedic operation.
Eat a well-balanced diet, supplemented by a daily multivitamin with iron. If you are overweight, losing weight before surgery will help decrease the stress you place on your new joint. However, you should not diet during the month before your surgery
If you smoke, you should stop or cut down to reduce your surgical risks and improve your opportunity for a successful recovery.
Report any infections to your surgeon. Surgery may need to be postponed until the infection has been cleared up.
Transportation: You MUST have someone available to take you home. You are considered legally impaired after anesthetic and will not be allowed to drive for 24 hours after surgery.
If undergoing general anesthesia, patients will need to have an adult stay with them for the first 24 hours after surgery. If these arrangements are not made prior to your surgery, your operation will be cancelled.
Do NOT drink or eat anything in the car on the trip home.
The combination of anesthesia, food, and car motion can quite often 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 (leg, knee, hand or elbow), 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, but before you are in severe pain. If you wait to take your pain medication until the pain is severe, you will have more difficulty controlling the pain
You will be given specific postoperative instructions and a prescription for pain medication at the time of discharge from the hospital.
If you had surgery on an extremity (leg, knee, hand or elbow), 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, but before you are in severe pain. If you wait to take your pain medication until the pain is severe, you will have more difficulty controlling the pain
Follow-up: If a postoperative visit has not already been prearranged at the time of booking your surgery, please contact your surgeon’s office to arrange.
Should you require a form or letter/note for employers/insurance companies to be filled out, please obtain this form from your insurance company. Please then submit your form to your surgeons MOA for completion. **NOTE that all forms and short letters are subject to a fee charge.