You will soon undergo a surgery
In order to perform the surgery correctly, appropriate anaesthesia is required. The appropriate method of anaesthesia will be determined by you and your anaesthesiologist. You will meet your anaesthesiologist during a pre-surgery visit when you can expect questions regarding previous anaesthesias, your health condition and type of taken drugs. If you are under control of another physician (e.g. a cardiologist, pulmonologist, neurologist, GP, etc.), it is recommended that you bring along a description of your last consultations (medical history, treatment) with possible indications as to actions taken during the procedure and postoperative period. Information for Patient (download .pdf)
Preparation for the procedure
Safe and effective anaesthesia and surgery require appropriate patient preparation. It is important that a patient is relaxed. It is possible to ask for soporifi c drugs during the pre-surgery visit. Please remove the following before the surgery:
- Nail polish
- Face make-up
- Jewellery
- Contact lenses
As smoking negatively affects anaesthesia, it is recommended to reduce smoking on the day of surgery to the maximum; best not to smoke at all.
Be on an empty stomach
If the surgery is to be performed in the morning, i.e. before noon, small quantities of water can be consumed before the procedure. If the surgery is to be performed in the afternoon, a glass of tea or water and light breakfast (a slice of bread or a toast with yellow cheese or jam) can be consumed. Drugs can be taken on the day of the surgery after consultation with an anaesthesiologist or surgeon.
Anaesthesia
There are various types of anaesthesia. The most common division includes general anaesthesia when a patient is asleep and all his/her body is anaesthetised, and conduction anaesthesia when only a part of his/her body (e.g. an arm or a leg) is temporarily anaesthetised. In case of conduction anaesthesia, the patient can witness the whole procedure or ask for an additional soporifi c drug. In case of both general and conduction anaesthesia, the patient is connected to a monitor controlling cardiac activity: electrodes are placed on the chest to record cardiac activity;a sensor measuring oxygen content of blood is placed on a fi nger; blood pressure is measured in regular time intervals. Every patient has a venous catheter enabling drip application and drug administration.
Postoperative pain
After the surgery, when analgesics used cease to act, you may start feeling pain. Pain is an unpleasant feeling, causing insomnia, reduced activity and deteriorated lung ventilation. Therefore, you should not wait to take analgesics until you cannot stand the pain. Otherwise, the quantity of the drug required to alleviate pain is usually unnecessarily higher than in case of relatively regular drug administration. After the procedure, an anaesthesiologist determines appropriate analgetic treatment, including either intravenous or oral drugs. Sometimes, in order to alleviate pain in treatment of postoperative pain, nerve block or continuous administration of local anaesthesia drugs by a catheter to the spine or to a postoperative wound can be used. Frequent questions asked about pain during the postoperative period are to determine how analgesic drugs act and to be able to possibly modify the treatment.
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