The business day before your surgery, you must call the Operating Room Scheduling Department at 613-721-4840 between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM, Monday to Friday. The clerk will give you the time you must arrive at the hospital on the day of your surgery and the location of where you must report to. We are unable to give you an arrival time any earlier than the day before your surgery.

You must follow the instructions that were provided to you by the Registered Nurse during your POAC visit. These will include what you may or may not eat or drink, as well as what medications you must take on the day of your surgery. If you are unclear about your instructions please refer to your patient instruction handout for the number to call.

If you are a smoker, refrain from smoking 24 hours prior to surgery.

Have a bath or shower the night before your surgery, thoroughly wash the area of your body to be operated on. Do not use any scented products or body lotions and sleep on freshly laundered bed sheets if able.

If you are going home the same day of your surgery you must arrange for a responsible adult to pick you up after surgery. It is also recommended that you have a responsible adult remain with you on the first night after surgery.

You should bring your Care Partner with you on the Day of Surgery. Please limit the number of people with you to a maximum of 2 due to limited space.

Have a bath or shower before coming to the Hospital, thoroughly wash the area of your body to be operated on. Queensway Carleton Hospital is a scent-free organization.

Please do not:

• Wear cosmetics, make-up, nail polish, contact lenses or jewelry, including body piercings
• Use any scented products such as aftershave, cologne, perfume, deodorant or body lotions
• Bring any valuables with you

Do:

• Bring your Ontario Health Card.
• Bring your medications in their original containers including any inhalers. If your medications are in a blister pack,  bring the blister pack and a list of your medications from your Pharmacy.
• Bring your patient instruction handout
• Bring the name and telephone number of the responsible adult who will be picking you up after surgery.
• After midnight the night before your surgery drink clear fluids only

Drink one cup of clear fluid (250 mLs or 8oz) of apple juice or water or ginger-ale, before you leave to come to the hospital. Drinking a clear fluid has been shown to improve a patient’s recovery.

NOTE: If you develop a cold or other illness, notify your Surgeon before your operation. If you are uncertain, come to the Day Surgery Unit as planned and the Nurse will assess you.

Report to Patient Registration, located just inside the main entrance of the Hospital.

From Patient Registration, you will be directed to the Day Surgery Unit.

Bring your Care Partner with you. You may invite your Care Partner into the Day Surgery Unit before your surgery.

A Registered Nurse will get you ready for surgery, including starting an intravenous and giving you any medication(s) that may have been ordered for you to take.

Your Anesthesiologist, Surgeon and Operating Room Registered Nurse will visit you in the Day Surgery Unit before you go to the Operating Room.

You will be taken by stretcher to the Operating Room.

It is the recommendation of the Queensway Carleton Hospital that all jewelry, including body piercings and wedding rings, be removed prior to surgery.

The known risks of leaving in jewelry or body piercings in place during surgery may include:

• Injury from a burn if the electro-surgical unit is used during surgery.
• An increased risk of infection if the jewelry is near the surgical area as jewelry harbours bacteria.
• Possible restrictions of blood flow from the jewelry/body piercing area due to tissue swelling after surgery near the surgical site.
• An increased risk of injury due to the jewelry/body piercing if the jewelry or body piercing area becomes tangled in the patient gown or bed linens during positioning for surgery or when being transferred to the stretcher in the operating room.
• An increased risk of injury during anesthetic if the body piercing is in the nose, tongue or mouth (these MUST be removed).

Body piercings can be removed at the body piercing store.

If you choose to accept these risks and arrive for your surgical procedure with the jewelry or body piercing in place, there is a possibility that your surgery will be cancelled by the anesthesiologist or the surgeon depending on the location of the jewelry/body piercing.

If you choose to accept these risks and decide to keep your jewelry/body piercing for the procedure and the surgery proceeds, it will be documented on your chart that you were aware of the risks and that you will assume the responsibility for any negative outcome.

In the Operating Room we will introduce you to the Operating Room surgical team.

You will be assisted to move from the stretcher to the Operating Room table.

Monitoring equipment will be connected to you, including a warming device. The Operating Room may feel cold to you.

While you are awake the Operating Room team will perform a surgical safety checklist that will include a review of your name, surgical procedure and any other information specific to you.