no pre-op appointment??

Well I have a question. I was told by my DR to call the hospital two weeks before surgery. I called friday and I dont need to talk with anyone. I just have to get my blood drawn. I have read many posts on here, That some women talk with the anestegia(sp) people. Why dont they need to talk to me? Weird. I am calling my Dr today to find out what needs to be done. I feel like I am going into this surgery Blind. I am getting very nervous now. I hope all the Ladies in waiting are doing great. Thanks

Sunflowers

Hi!

I have had two abdominal surgeries in the past year -- my hyst/panniculectomy in 2004 and an open debridement of an old hematoma/seroma just recently. I had both procedures at the Mayo Clinic hospitals in Rochester, MN (just for sake of reference).

Your pre-op experience mirrors what I had done for my hysterectomy. After reading Hyster Sisters threads for two months (almost non-stop at times ) I was also expecting a big appointment, but all I had was a rather short consultation with both of my surgeons, a photo taken of my belly because of the panniculectomy, and a blood draw. They did give me a pamphlet on preparing for surgery. I went to the business office to do a pre-check-in and told them I wanted a private room. That was it.

For my latest surgery, it was a whole different thing. I went to a special pre-op area, had a rather extensive exam and medical history taken (which of course they already knew), a blood draw, and a meeting with an anesthesiologist to discuss pain relief. I talked to someone about my private room preference and they went over in detail what I could and couldn't take as far as meds up to my surgery.

The only conclusion I could draw was that my gyn surgeon didn't think I "needed" the other pre-op workup. You might want to ask your doctor if your hospital has pre-op "classes". Mine even has movies you can watch at the clinic or take home!

If you need more information than you're being given, by all means call and get it. You are entitled to know everything you need to know before you get to the hospital.

I had a pre op visit with my Dr. 3 days before surgery. She mainly went over the procedure with me, told me what to do the day before, and gave me orders to take to the hospital. When I got there, they asked me 100 questions, did bloodwork, and I spoke with the anthesiologist(sp). They went ahead and put my wristband on too, with my name, Dr.'s name, account number. Saved a lot of time on the day of surgery.

I'll have a chest x-ray and EKG done on 11/7th. Blood work will be done on 12/2nd. I remember talking to the anastesiologist the day of the surgery. I don't remember if he/she called the day before or not. My surgery is scheduled on 12/6th.

I do have to arrive at the castle 2 hours before surgery time.

Ok so I talked to the Dr and he said I dont really need any exstensive testing because I am young and healthy. I do have to go to the castle this week and get blood work done. I just felt like "ok heres your date-see ya there". The dr also said that if I have any more questions between now and then, to call him. That made me feel better. Well wishes to everyone and thanks for the replies.
Sunflowers AKA Jenn

I'm having a similar experience. I keep getting the impression that this is just so routine for them that they forget that having an organ removed might not be an ordinary occurrence for me. I am scheduled for Oct 25, and last Thursday I called because I hadn't heard anything and was getting anxious. I asked if I was just supposed to show up at the hospital, and they said "No, you will come in for a pre-op." I had to ask when the pre-op would be, and they said a week before the surgery. I had to point out that a week before was Next week. She called a little later to give me the appointment time.

If it hadn't been for this forum, I wouldn't have even known I was supposed to have a pre-op consultation. Thank you, ladies.

I didn't have any pre-op appointments with the hospital or my GYN. At the last appointment I had with him prior to surgery we discussed my latest ultrasound to see if anything changed. I told him I wanted to go through with it and then we discussed the details and he answered my questions. I had to call the office back because their scheduler was out that day otherwise I would have gotten my surgery date that day. He also told me I needed to go to my GP within 30 days of the surgery to get a clearance. The GP ordered blood work, I had an EKG and he asked a bunch of questions about medical history to fill out a special form which indicated that I was stable for surgery. My GP told me that from what I said I was making the right decision but he was also going to get a copy of the ultrasound "to make sure".

The hospital I went to sent a packet of information which included a pre-op questionaire which I had to mail back. It also included information about where to park, what door to enter where to report, the time to be there, what to bring and what would happen the day of surgery and where people would be able to wait. A couple days before surgery, the hospital called to review the questionaire, see if I had any questions and confirmed the time.

I talked to the anastesiologist in pre-op.