Preparing Yourself for
Hernia Surgery
You may think that the surgery process starts the day of surgery, but there is so much to prepare for! Hopefully we can help get you ready on your path to recovery WAY before your surgery even happens.
The Day of Consultation
This is the east part! Once you and your hernia surgeon come to an agreement about a plan. The work truly begins. At the end of your appointment with booking surgery you are given a date and a preoperative appointment with our AMAZING nurse practitioner Tori for a preoperative appointment. At the same time, if you need medical or subspecialty clearances, we will let you know so you can plan accordingly.
Now is the time to mark the day of surgery on your calendar and mentally ready yourself for the day of surgery and the recovery afterwards.
If you have any lingering questions, give us a call or write them down for your preoperative visit with Tori.
Your Clearances
There may be several things on your to-do list after your visit including clearances, weight loss, lab tests, or imaging studies. Our office staff will help you every step of the way to ensure there are no hiccups come surgery day.
Imaging and labwork studies can be done near you or at one of our facilities, however it is up to you to deliver these studies to us! Call the office if you need help.
Clearances may mean you need additional testing as well prior to your surgery. Please let us know if this may delay your surgery date and we can plan accordingly.
Once any clearances you may need are all sorted out, we are full steam ahead!
Preoperative Visit
In certain cases, especially more complex surgeries, you may be schedule a preoperative visit with our INCREDIBLE nurse practioner Tori.
During this visit you should ask lingering questions that you may have, and go over all instructions again.
Tori will go more into detail about what to expect before, during, and after surgery, and this visit allows us to go into way more detail about the experience than we could fit into the initial consultation. This is also the time when we make sure your clearances and studies are in order.
What to Buy
We have a very detailed blog post HERE which shows you things to buy and other things you can do to prepare for your recovery. Most of these things can be purchased from Amazon or other online pharmacies.
Mentally Preparing
This may be the hardest part. Before you can be ready in the operating room, you have to be ready mentally.
Take a moment and realize that you are taking care of your health, and putting yourself first. In some cases this allow you to better care for those around you too.
Meditation is great for before and after surgery, and practicing breathing and relaxation techniques can go miles towards a positive recovery.
Remember, you are not alone. Your friends, family, nurses, and other staff at the hospital all are rooting for you, and want you to have a happy and speedy recovery.