Many people have surgery every year. Statistics Canada estimates that more than 1.5 million Canadians underwent elective surgery during the year 2004. Surgeries planned and planned (elective surgeries) are often preceded by a waiting time that it is useful to devote to the pre-operative preparation.
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What Is Meant By Preoperative Preparation?
Surgical planning, management of transportation, discharge, recovery, and rehabilitation programs are some examples of things that can be part of the preparation for surgery. The different aspects of good pre-operative preparation, medication, and diet management will be more specific in this text. The reader should be aware. However, that preparation for surgery must be individualized according to each individual’s specific needs and the type of intervention that is planned. There are almost as many different types of preparations as there are surgeries, as there are patients. Therefore, the information provided in the following text may not apply to everyone.
Medication and diet management is an essential part of preparing a patient for surgery. It should be understood that diet, medications, and certain lifestyle habits (tobacco and alcohol, for example) can impact the operation’s course.
Food
Most surgeries require the patient to be fasting, often from midnight the day before the exam. It is sometimes recommended that you refrain from drinking alcohol within 24 to 48 hours before specific tests or procedures. In bowel surgeries, diet management may be more stringent, requiring a liquid or low-residual diet for 24 to 48 hours before the operation.
As the name suggests, the liquid diet only allows you to take liquid food. Such as broth, jello, water, juice without pulp. The hyporesidual diet is a little less restrictive since it will enable the intake of solid foods. However, you should avoid any product containing fiber, such as certain grain products, legumes, and most raw or cooked fruits and vegetables.
Medication
It is essential to list all of your medications, including non-prescription and natural products, to the healthcare team. Depending on the case, you may temporarily or permanently discontinue some medications, and may add others in preparation for the procedure.
In the vast majority of cases, it is recommended that you continue to take your medication generally in the days leading up to the procedure and on the day itself. An exception to this rule is diabetes medication. Since taking these medicines on an empty stomach can cause a severe reaction called hypoglycemia. People with diabetes should generally not take them on the morning of the procedure. They will usually be able to take them as soon as they allow to eat.
Also, you must temporarily stop some medications in anticipation of an intervention. For example, you need to stop iron supplements a week before specific bowel procedures. As they may stain the gut and complicate the process.
Different Behaviors
Certain behaviors can influence the course of the surgery. Thus, people who are addicted to nicotine or alcohol should understand that they will not be able to use it during surgery. Therefore, it is essential to notify the healthcare team of this situation so that they can do the necessary arrangements. For example, smokers can be prescribed nicotine patches to help control the withdrawal symptoms associated with their forced abstinence.
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