Preparation For Surgery

If you and Dr. Michael Chu have come to an agreement that surgery would be beneficial for you, there are still a few steps to be completed before the day of surgery.

If you have private insurance, it depends on your policy whether you will need to obtain pre-approval prior to confirmation of the surgical date. Dr. Michael Chu’s staff at his rooms will be able to help you and provide the documentation required to complete the approval process. You can also enquire with your insurance company on the necessary process for pre-approval.

• You will need to complete an anaesthetic (health) questionnaire and once complete, this will be sent through to the anaesthetist looking after you. The anaesthetist will contact you and sometimes, may arrange to see you in person before the day of surgery. If you have any previous medical conditions or operations, please do declare it to Dr. Michael Chu and the anaesthetist as these may interfere with the surgery or anaesthetic. In certain cases, it may affect the outcome of surgery.
• You may be required to have routine tests, such as blood tests and X-rays, and these are usually performed a week before the day of surgery. If you are undergoing major surgery, and there is a possibility of requiring a blood transfusion, you will be required to have a blood test 1-3 days prior to surgery. This allows appropriate cross-matching of blood and ensuring availability of the required blood in preparation for the day of surgery.

In the questionnaire, you will need to list all the medications you are taking especially those that affect blood clotting (such as warfarin, clopidogrel, dabigatran). This allows Dr. Michael Chu and the anaesthetist to assess which medications you should stop taking before surgery, and when you should stop taking the medications.

Please try to stop or cut down your smoking before the date of surgery as this reduces the risk of surgery and increases your recovery rate. Regarding your dietary intake, a well-balanced diet would be adequate and if needed, you can supplement this with daily multivitamins and/or dietary supplements (such as Ensure/Fortisips). There are no strict recommendations on nutritional intake in preparation of surgery.

• Please arrange for help with daily tasks such as laundry, shopping and cooking.
• If you require open surgery (laparotomy), it is recommended that you do not lift more than 5-6 kg or strain your abdominal wound for approximately 6 weeks after the surgery.
• If you had keyhole (laparoscopic) surgery, it is recommended that you do not lift more than 5-6 kg or strain your abdominal wound for approximately 2 weeks post-operatively.
• Place items within easy reach before surgery so you don’t have to strain or reach out post-operatively. To reduce the strain on your abdominal wound, please make sure you have a chair with a firm back and two arms, to minimise straining your abdomen as you sit or get up off the chair.

If you are having day surgery (ie. Discharge on the day of surgery), please have someone available to take you home, as you are not able to drive for at least 24 hours after surgery. Please eat according to your hunger and start with a light meal for your first meal. Avoid rich/fatty/greasy food for the first 1-2 days to reduce the chance of nausea.

It is recommended that you have someone at home with you for at least a few days after you have been discharged from hospital. You will need to arrange for this before surgery to ensure that you have the appropriate support at home on discharge.

After your discharge from hospital, it is recommended that you stay a couple of nights in Auckland before you return home. This allows you to assess how you feel being out of hospital to make sure that you will be able to cope at home when you return home.