Pre-operative Care

Minimise your risk and optimise your outcome prior to surgery

To optimise the outcome of your surgery, please read through the following pre-operative checklist in the lead-up to your surgery.

Perioperative physician

If you have a complex medical history, you may be referred to see a perioperative physician to optimise your medical status and minimise any risks before your surgery. Investigations such as an ECG, echocardiogram, or lung function tests may need to be organised before surgery.

Medications and fasting status

You will be contacted the week prior to your surgery to confirm what medications you should withhold, when you should be fasting, and where you should arrive on the day of surgery.

Some of the medications that you may be asked to withhold include:

• Immunomodulators e.g. Humira

• Blood thinners e.g. Aspirin, Clopidogrel and Warfarin

• Diabetic medications

In general, fasting should start at 12am the night before a morning surgery and at 6:30am for an afternoon surgery.

You will be asked to arrive at the hospital between 7am to 12pm on the day of surgery.

Skin preparation and minimising the risk of infection

Please wash the affected leg with 4% Chlorhexidine soap 3 days prior to your surgery, with the last wash on the morning of surgery. This will help minimise the risk of infection.

• This can be purchased from Chemist Warehouse

Contact us if you have any cuts, scrapes, or broken skin on the affected side before your surgery. These may increase the risk of surgical site infection, and postponing surgery in this situation may be safer.

Let us know if your health has changed before surgery. Unexpected illness may increase the risk of anaesthetic and warrant postponing the surgery.