As soon as you know that you may be having an operation, it is helpful to think about how you can be as healthy and as fit as possible for surgery. Even small changes in your health and lifestyle can improve your experience of surgery and help you recover faster.
You can see how to improve your health and fitness in the ‘Preparing Yourself For Surgery’ section of the Healthier Together website.
This section describes what to expect in the days before your operation.
After you have been reviewed by your hospital’s preoperative assessment team, you will be given a date for surgery. Most surgeries go ahead on the date as planned, but in rare circumstances, this date has to change.
You will always be contacted as soon as possible with the reason and a new date for your surgery.
If you feel unwell at any time close to your surgery date (such as having had an infection or having recently seen your GP) you should contact the phone number on your hospital admission letter. Either your surgical team or the pre-operative assessment team will check your symptoms and advise if your surgery can go ahead.
You should contact your hospital as soon as possible.
In some situations, you may be offered the chance to come in at short notice for your surgery. This will allow you to have the exact same surgery, only earlier than expected. You will only be offered a short notice surgery if you have completed your pre-operative assessment and are ready for surgery.
You do not have to accept the offer of a short notice surgery and you will keep your existing operation date if you do.
You should continue all of your medications up to and including the day of your operation unless you are told not to.
You will be given instructions by your preoperative assessment team.
If you are unsure of the instructions, contact the preoperative assessment team of your hospital immediately.
Some medications that you may be given instructions for include:
Bring all your usual medications with you to the hospital, including any that you have been asked to stop.
There are several things you can do to reduce the risk of infection during and after your surgery:
All of your belongings should fit into a small case or bag. This will be labelled with your name and will be transferred to the ward you will go to after surgery.
Wear comfortable and loose fitting clothes on the day. If you are having day case surgery, you do not need to bring any other clothes.
What bring with you:
Do not bring:
Your admission letter will have the location and time you should arrive at the hospital for your surgery.
The time will depend on when your surgery is scheduled. Occasionally, you may have to wait for your surgery, as the clinical teams need to prepare everyone for surgery. This is the most efficient way to ensure all operations go as planned and reduce cancellations.
Make sure you know how to travel to the hospital on the day and give yourself plenty of time to make the journey.
If you are delayed or running late you should contact the admission area of the hospital to inform them as soon as possible.
You can find directions to each South West London Hospital below: