Planned surgery

[Nextphonewontbesamsung]

Hello, I've been on a waiting list for an operation for a few months.

I've now been called in to hospital to have a "pre-operation" appointment. I'm not sure what's going to happen at this - maybe checking that I'm fit for surgery and having some blood tests etc?

My question is ... how soon after that appointment is my surgery likely to be? Do I have any say in when I actually have the op? Reason I'm asking is that my husband will be out of the country for work shortly after this "pre-op assessment appointment" so wouldn't be ideal for me to have an op. Hopefully I will be discharged the same day or next day at the latest and I will need someone at home to look after me. Can I ask that I have the op the following week when he will be home and able to take time off work? I'm not sure I can pick and choose like this or will the hospital take this situation into account?

Thanks in advance.

Its usually so they can do the nessacary tests and fit you for stockings etc. Mine was a couple of days after

Normally the shortest timeframe for elective surgery is two weeks to give them time to get things in place, but is more likely 28 days plus.

You would receive a letter within a day or two of the date being added to their system, if they haven't already called you on the day they put it on the system. They won't tell you "come back in two days" or anything.

You'll be offered no more than two dates then be removed from waiting list if you reject them both (the rules were changed, so I believe this is national policy now). That's the formal position although your consultant might have a discussion with you about timeframes if you're seeing them again (but this might be less likely for day surgery).

Pre op assessment is lots of paperwork, depending on your surgery. Risk assessments, obtaining sufficient history from you, identifying any risk factors or comorbidities that they need to be planning for measuring you for socks, height/weight, bloods, blood pressure/temperature/heart rate, maybe an ECG.

Have you had a form to fill out to take with you?

If you're on prescribed meds it can speed things up to take a list with you to give them.

My preop assessments have always been valid for three months, so a surgery date would be anytime within those three months. Every hospital is different though and some are valid for less time.

I’ve turned down surgery dates twice, the first time because the surgeon had changed and they couldn’t get me an outpatient apt to meet him before the op, the second time it clashed with another event and while I said yes initially I didn’t want to, and my surgeon knew that so told me to cancel it and I got a new date for a few weeks later.