How to Prepare
Talk with your anesthesiologist
Your pre-operative visit with an anesthesiologist is an opportunity for you to provide your physician with information vital to your care. It is extremely helpful if you come to your visit with your health information.
Come Prepared
1. Bring a list of all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you take. 2. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (like ibuprofen) can interfere with blood clotting and will need to be discontinued prior to surgery. 3. Be sure to mention any supplements or herbal products you take. Several herbs can interact with anesthesia or cause problems with bleeding or blood pressure during surgery. 4. Bring a list of all allergies to medicines or foods. 5. Let us know about any adverse reactions you or any family members have had to anesthesia in the past. 6. Report any loose teeth, dentures, or crowns; they could be accidentally damaged during several phases of your anesthetic.
Food and Drink
While under anesthesia, you may lose the ability to protect your lungs from the contents of your stomach. Because of this, you will be asked to not eat or drink anything for a period of time before your surgery. Usually we ask patients to eat or drink nothing after midnight before surgery. You may drink a sip of water to help you take any medications that you were instructed to take on the day of surgery.
Smoking
Smoking increases your risk of complications before, during, and after your operation. Quitting before your operation and staying smoke free for four weeks after can decrease your risk of overall complications by up to 50%. You may think that it is not worth your effort to quit right before your surgery. It is true that it may take several weeks for your lungs to gain the benefits from quitting smoking. However, anytime is a good time to quit smoking, and we encourage you to do it now. Quitting at any time can add years to your life. We encourage you to talk with you primary care physician about tools available to help you quit smoking. We also encourage you to use the hotline below to help you get a head start on quitting: 1-800-QUIT-NOW