Preparing for surgery

Two weeks before

This is the time to settle questions about medication and tobacco. If you take a blood thinner or an antiplatelet drug, never stop it on your own: that decision belongs to the doctor who prescribed it, agreed with the surgical team. Stopping smoking, even two weeks beforehand, genuinely improves healing.

• Write out a complete list of your medications, including natural products and supplements.
• Report any allergy, saying what reaction you had.
• Tell the team if you have diabetes: the timing of your medication will need adjusting.
• Tell the team if you develop any infection, even a minor one, or a break in the skin on the hand being operated on.

Organising home and the trip back

You will be using one hand for a while. A little preparation avoids a lot of frustration: put what you need within reach, prepare a few meals, and think about loose clothing that goes on without straining the operated arm.

• Arrange for someone to accompany you: you may not drive or travel home alone after sedation or a nerve block.
• Choose button-up shirts or loose clothing rather than tight jumpers.
• Put an extra pillow by the bed to keep the hand elevated at night.
• Take off rings and bracelets on the side being operated on, and leave them at home.

The last 24 hours

Fasting instructions will be given to you by the hospital, and those are the ones that count. In general, eating stops the evening before; clear fluids are sometimes allowed later. If you have not been given a clear instruction, call rather than guess.

Do not put cream, nail polish or make-up on the hand being operated on.

• Follow the fasting instructions given by the hospital — they take precedence over this page.
• Shower the night before or that morning, without putting cream on the limb to be operated on.
• Get enough sleep; feeling anxious the night before surgery is normal.
• Have your health insurance card and hospital card ready.