Steps You Must Take

To prepare for surgery there are several steps you must take to have a successful outcome.

  • They will help determine if there are any risks for you based on your medical condition.
  • They help your doctor determine if special precautions must be taken to ensure a good outcome.

The Road to Surgery involves the following steps:

  • Surgical Consultation: Your journey will usually begin at the surgeon’s office. Here you will discuss the need for surgery with your doctor and you will decide together.

You will receive specific instructions to prepare for the day of your surgery. Most of these steps will take place as an outpatient at your doctor’s office, a specialist’s office, an outpatient surgery center or even within a hospital.

  • Anesthesia Consultation: In some cases an out-patient Anesthesia Consultation will help determine if you have special conditions that may affect your care or outcome during surgery. Some of the most common conditions to consider are a history of heart disease, lung disease or diabetes.
  • Preoperative Evaluation: Almost everyone will also be asked to have some preoperative evaluation in anticipation of your surgery. This can usually be done as an outpatient several days before the procedure.
Deciding on surgery with doctor

Deciding on Surgery

A decision is first made to have surgery in conjunction with your surgeon. A patient is seen for a complaint, the surgeon evaluates, the diagnosis is made and a surgery is scheduled. Depending on the urgency of the problem the case is scheduled in one week or up to 2 months. This is often influenced by urgency of the problem, the surgeon’s schedule or that of the operating room.

Anesthesia consultants

Anesthesia Consultation

There will be many occasions when either a surgeon or a preoperative evaluation professional will recognize significant issues that may be of concern to the outcome of the procedure. In this case, an Anesthesia Consultation may be requested days before surgery. This will usually take place in the surgicenter or hospital at least a week before surgery.

Evaluation for surgery

Preoperative Evaluation

Most patients will be asked to have some preoperative evaluation and testing before surgery. This evaluation is usually performed with your doctor at their office and is meant to screen the patient for any conditions that may affect the risks of surgery. Previous experience has shown this has helped improve outcomes and decreased the danger of surgery significantly.

Find out how to prepare for your surgery

It is important you take the time to discuss the rationale for the surgery with your doctor and take the opportunity to have the evaluations and testing necessary to make your procedure safer. Ask your surgeon or healthcare provider for clarification on any questions you might have.

Evaluate for Surgery