Surgery Ready?

Are you about to have surgery? If so, preparation is key to a successful recovery. You should be armed with the right questions to ask before they cut you open, and you should prepare your home and family for convalescence. Here's what's critical.

1. Educate yourself about your procedure. I know that sounds obvious, but we have become so immune to the disclaimers by doctors and hospitals that if we really took that list seriously, none of us would ever have surgery. Be sure about what the negative consequences really are and consider how you will resolve those problems should you fall into the percentage of unlucky people who do not recover well.

2. Take a friend or relative to the doctor's visit. Often we're too uncomfortable to be definitive about what we want or too embarrassed to ask necessary questions. Your advocate should not have the concerns that stop us from asking for pertinent information or expressing our concerns.

3. Prior to surgery, ask if you should stop smoking, drinking and taking various medications. For example, sometimes a surgeon won't operate on a patient if they have been on steroids within a certain period of time because they impede healing. Ask also about herbal replacements you take or something as simple like aspirin, which can cause bleeding. Notify your surgeon about any changes in your health between your pre-op appointment and going into the hospital. Fever, rashes or even a cold could impact success.

4. Cook and freeze food that would be easy to heat and serve. You really don't know what your energy level is going to be. Put away loose rugs, fix unstable steps and put in bars if that facilitates safety in the shower. Arrange any services and equipment you might have to use--oxygen tank, wheel chair, bed rails, and home health care.

5. Ask what you can expect for after surgery; when you can resume activities; what the danger signs for a problem will be; if you will need a ride.

6. Take only what you must to the hospital--no jewelry, money, or medications. You risk loss, and they will dispense the medicine you need. Do take a list of medicine that you use and your insurance card, and make friends with the nurses. They really run the hospital. The better they know you, the more attentive and helpful they will be. Also, fewer mistakes are made when people know something about you and your condition beyond the chart.

7. When you're in the hospital, notice what your medicine looks like and when it is given. Dispensing medicine incorrectly is the most common mistake made in a hospital, so ask about changes and remind the staff if you've missed a dosage. Also, watch to see if your caregivers wash their hands, the single most important way not to spread germs, and if they use gloves. Be sure they hand you the call button. You want to have that within reach at all times.

8. Be sure to check your wrist band for errors and make sure it lists your allergies. Despite the fact that a morphine allergy was repeatedly included in my dad's chart, he was given it at multiple hospitals.

Check, check, and check again--everything and everyone! If you are physically and mentally able, you should be your own best advocate, and please don't be shy. You won't see these people again, but you may have to live with a mistake forever.

If you are not able to be your best advocate, ask someone to watch over you. Their presence in the hospital and their energy on your behalf will make all the difference.