Planning and preparation

Although each person’s situation is different, this is a general overview of what may happen before surgery. Procedures vary between hospitals.

Learn more about:

• Overview
• Preoperative assessment
• Looking after your health before surgery
• Enhanced recovery after surgery programs
• Understanding the risks
• Informed consent
• Preparing for surgery

Overview

You will be told whether you will have surgery as an inpatient or outpatient, how long you will need to stay at the hospital, what to take to hospital and other useful information (see Looking after your health before surgery and Preparing for surgery). You will usually receive admission instructions from the hospital.

Preoperative assessment

Your surgeon

Your surgeon will ask you to complete a questionnaire about your medical history, including any allergies and any medicines you take. Tell them if you are taking any over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, herbs or other supplements, as these could affect the surgery and your recovery. For example, they may increase the risk of bleeding during surgery or affect the way pain medicines work.

If you don’t need to attend a pre-admission clinic, your surgeon will talk to you at one of your usual appointments about the surgery and any preparations you need to make. If you are having surgery privately, the anaesthetist may call you to discuss any issues noted on your pre-admission questionnaire.

Pre-admission clinic

Depending on the surgery you are having and your general health, you may need to attend a pre-admission clinic.

This may be in person or over telehealth. Your medical team will check your fitness for surgery and recommend any tests or other things you need to do to prepare for surgery and ensure the best outcomes.

The health professionals you see at the clinic will vary depending on any other health conditions you have, the type of cancer and the surgery planned, but they could include:

• the surgeon or a resident medical officer or registrar
• the anaesthetist or another member of the anaesthesia team, such as a specialist nurse or registrar
• a physiotherapist to show you exercises to do before surgery to improve the chances of a smooth recovery
• other specialists depending on your medical history and the type of surgery (e.g. you may see a heart specialist)
• specialist nurses such as a cancer care coordinator, breast care nurse or stomal therapy nurse.

You may also have blood tests (including compatibility testing in case you need a blood transfusion), urine tests, heart monitoring tests (ECG) and a chest x-ray, and imaging tests such as CT, MRI or PET–CT scans. You may not need to have all of these tests and scans.