All you need to know before, during, and after surgery

Consultation

By now you will either have seen me in consultation as an inpatient in the hospital or in my office, and we have discussed your plan moving forward. If we have not met, and/or you are seeking consultation regarding a medical/surgical condition, the first step would be to contact my office at the Surgical Care Group at Catholic Medical Center at 603-627-1887. Please also see the "Contact" link above or to the right of this screen. Our office staff will guide you in making an appointment.

PREPARING FOR ​
​YOUR SURGERY

  • Depending on what surgery you are having, most likely you will already have had a preop appointment or phone call with an anesthesiologist and/or OR nursing staff.
  • You should not have anything to eat  after midnight before your surgery.
  • You may have clear liquids up until 6 hours before your surgery. Clear liquids includes juices, water, black coffee (no creamer, dairy, smoothies)
  • If you were instructed to take a bowel prep for your surgery, please click the link below this column for your specific instructions
  • If you happen to get sick or have a fever around the time of your operation, please call our office to see if this will affect your surgery. Often times, a minor cold, asthma, or allergies will not be a problem. If you have a pneumonia or fever, your operation may have to be postponed.

​THE DAY OF
​SURGERY

  • Please come at least one hour ahead of your scheduled surgery for preoperative preparations.
  • I recommend taking a shower the morning of your surgery to remain clean. Please remove any jewelry, contacts, and piercings.
  • You will be meeting a lot of staff: nurses, operating room team, nurse anesthetist, anesthesiologist, and surgeon. You may have more consent forms to sign
  • Please make sure you have travel arrangements set up after your surgery for your discharge
  • If surgery is in the main CMC hospital, there is a family waiting area on Level D right outside the operating room area.
  • I will write a prescription for pain medications for those operations that may require them. If so, this will be done before surgery in case your family wants to pick them up during your surgery. There is no pharmacy in our hospital; Rite-Aid adjacent to CMC is the closest pharmacy.
  • Upon your discharge, you will be handed a personalized discharge instruction sheet highlighting your surgery and answers to the most common questions you may have.

WHAT TO EXPECT
AFTER SURGERY

  • ​Unless otherwise stated, you should call and confirm a followup appointment with me in 2-3 weeks.
  • For all laparoscopic surgeries, you will have incisions with surgical glue. This glue is waterproof enabling you to take showers on the day of your discharge. There is purplish hue to the glue and make bruising seem worse than it is.
  • If you have been prescribed narcotics, please take this as instructed (usually 1-2 tablets every 4-6 hours as needed)
  • If problems arise after discharge, including but not limited to fever of temperature >101, vomiting, chest pain, or increasing redness and/or discharge from the incision, call the surgical office immediately.
  • Please refer to your personalized discharge instruction sheet for individualized instructions pertaining to your care after your surgery..
  • A sample and more detailed post-operative instruction sheet can be downloaded below: