The day of the surgery

Here we provide a general overview of what may happen on the day of the surgery. Procedures vary between hospitals and according to whether you have surgery as an inpatient or outpatient.

Learn more about:

• Admission and preparation
• Anaesthetic
• The operating theatre
• Unknown factors
• Surgical wound
• Complications during surgery

Admission and preparation

The hospital will give you a time to arrive, called the admission time. Arriving earlier doesn’t mean you’ll be admitted or have surgery sooner. When you’re admitted, you might not know the exact time of the surgery, but you’ll probably know if it will be in the morning or afternoon. Sometimes there are unexpected delays due to emergencies – the receptionists and nurses will keep you informed.

Before you go to the operating theatre, a nurse will:

• review your medical history and whether you have any allergies
• place an identification band around your wrist or ankle
• check your blood pressure, pulse and weight
• ask when and what you last ate and drank.

You will change into a surgical gown and put your personal possessions in a bag for storage or to give to your support person. If the surgery is to a part of your body with hair, it will be shaved unless you have already done it yourself. Some people are given a sedative (premedicine or premed) as an injection or tablet to relax them.