Your medical condition may be such that a surgery is the best course of treatment. You, your physician and your surgeon would have jointly decided on the surgery. Furthermore, based on the convenience all around you, would have decided upon a date for the medical operation.
Once the date is set, you have to prepare for your surgery, especially if it’s a major surgery.
Here’s a look at 4 things you need to do before a major surgery.
1. General preparation
Your team of doctors would advise you to follow certain lifestyle changes before the actual surgical procedure. These could include changes in diet, exercise, medications, treatments and giving up vices. These changes are recommended, so that you can prepare your body and mind to withstand the surgery and recover quickly post medical operation.
2. Check-up
You may have to visit the hospital or diagnostic centers for the tests and the check-ups. Remember, since a number of specialists are involved, they may repeat the same general questions, besides posing questions related to their specialties. This is the best time for you to clarify any doubts you have about the surgery, duration, treatment post-surgery and recovery time. This is also the best time to be completely honest with your doctors and give them your medical history. The medical history should also include your family’s history, so the doctors are aware of any hereditary issues. Do not hide anything, even if it is trivial and even if it embarrasses you. Hiding anything at this stage would have a major impact on any claims of medical malpractice at a later stage.
3. Medical tests
Depending on the nature of your surgery and on which part of your body it is being performed, the doctors will order check-ups and tests well before the surgery. The specialists could include a cardiologist for heart issues, an endocrinologist for diabetes, and various other specialists if you have sleep disorders, blood clots, asthma or any other condition that may affect the surgical procedure.
This is why you have to be completely forthcoming when you give out your family history. This will guide the doctors to order various tests, so as to make sure that you are ready to undergo the major medical operation.
4. Diagnostic tests
The diagnostic tests could be ordered by your physician, surgeon, anesthesiologist and specialists. The tests could consist of x-rays and imaging, besides various blood tests. The tests could include:
- Blood tests to evaluate the performance of your kidney and liver
- Blood sugar test
- Complete blood count (CBC)
- Chest x-ray to check lungs
- ECG (electrocardiogram) to check heart
Besides the above there could be other tests before you undergo the surgery, depending on your medical condition. For instance, if you have other major conditions you may have to undergo image scans such as ultrasound, CT scan or MRI scan. You could also be asked to undergo other tests, such as endoscopy or colonoscopy, if you complain of indigestion or irritable bowels.
If you are undergoing major surgery, then the preparation described above is definitely required, since your current health status should not interfere with the surgical procedure and the recovery thereafter. Most of what is described above will depend on your general health condition. If you are healthy and fit and have no medical condition to be worried about, then these tests may not be ordered.
Healthcare has developed by leaps and bounds and there is no cause for worry, as it can offer solutions for almost all medical conditions. A major surgery should not be a problem if you prepare well and the doctors have time to treat any medical problems you may have before your surgery.
