These guidelines will help you prepare for your surgery, once it is scheduled:
- Complete any appointments requested by your surgical team. These may include a blood draw for lab tests, an electrocardiogram (EKG) of your heart, a phone visit with the anesthesia team or an appointment with your primary care provider or other medical specialist to ensure you are ready for surgery.
- Make sure you know what medications to take or not take on the morning of surgery. If you have any questions about your medications, please ask the anesthesia team during your phone visit (if you are scheduled for one), your primary care provider or your surgical team. You may need to stop taking certain medications several days to a week before surgery. If you accidentally take these medications, your surgery may need to be canceled.
Medications that need to be stopped ahead of time include:
Blood thinners: aspirin, apixaban (Eliquis), rivaroxaban (Xarelto), dabigatran (Pradaxa), clopidogrel (Plavix), ticagrelor (Brilinta), warfarin (Coumadin), heparin, enoxaparin (Lovenox)
Diabetes medications: semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy), dulaglutide (Trulicity), liraglutide (Victoza), exenatide (Byetta), tirzepatide (Mounjaro), empagliflozin (Jardiance), dapagliflozin (Farxiga), canagliflozin (Invokana)
It is important to continue taking certain medications. You should take them the morning of your surgery with some water. You can drink water up to two hours prior to your surgery.
Medications that are important to continue include:
Parkinson’s disease medications (e.g. levodopa/carbidopa, Sinemet)
Seizure medications
Some heart medications (e.g. metoprolol, carvedilol, antiarrhythmic drugs)
Suboxone, buprenorphine or methadone
Transplant medications (e.g. mycophenolate, tacrolimus, prednisone)
- Make plans to have someone with you on the day of surgery who can bring you home. You will need to have a responsible adult over 18 years old to bring you home following surgery. We highly recommend that an adult stay with you for 24 hours after your procedure.
- Quit smoking. If you smoke, plan to quit as soon as you know you may need surgery. Smoking can increase your risk of many surgical complications. The sooner you quit smoking, the more benefits there are. Ask your doctor for help. They may be able to prescribe medications to help you quit. Call the Quitline at 1-800-QUIT NOW (1-800-784-8669) for help with quitting.
- Expect a phone call the day before surgery to let you know what time to arrive.
The Day of Surgery
On the day of your surgery, follow these important guidelines:
- Don’t eat any food starting eight hours prior to surgery.
- You can drink clear liquids only (water, Gatorade, juice without pulp, carbonated beverages, black coffee or tea with no milk or creamer) up until two hours prior to your surgery. Don’t drink alcohol for 24 hours prior to surgery.
- Take the medications you were instructed to take on the morning of surgery.
- Brush your teeth before arriving for surgery. You may take a bath or shower, but do not shave the surgical site yourself.
- Wear clean, comfortable, loose-fitting clothing. Do not wear jewelry, body piercings, contacts, makeup, lotion or nail polish. You may bring prosthetic or orthopedic devices or medical equipment, including glasses, hearing aids and dentures and a case for safe storage during your procedure. If you have a remote-controlled medical device, remember to bring the remote control so your anesthesia team can turn your device on and off as needed.
- If you’ll be staying with us overnight, bring toiletries, a change of clothes and anything else you need.
- Bring your insurance cards, prescription cards and photo ID. If someone else makes medical decisions for you, bring a copy of the documentation stating that they are your decision-maker.
- Bring a list of your medications.