dVH/RALH: Upcoming hysterectomy 12/20: Skin prep - did you have to do it?

I've had surgeries in the past, but it's been quite a while, so maybe it's a new thing. I never had to do skin prep before. Just wondering if it's normally required and I didn't think to ask at my pre-op appointment - I just said "OK" as I was being bombarded with information :-)

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by skin prep. I couldn't shave at all for a few days and had to take 2 showers with a special presurgical wash. When I had a laproscopic surgery 10 years ago, I didn't have special instructions before but when I got to the hospital I had to use bathing wipes in a specific order. Is that kind of what you mean?

At my pre-op I was told to take a shower in the morning before I left for the hospital, no special soap or wash. It seems to depend on the doctor/hospital.

I was given very specific instructions on showering the night before and morning of surgery with a special soap, and told to change the sheets on my bed and avoid contact with my dog. Also, I'm not supposed to shave, but I only remember underarms and legs being mentioned, and I don't remember how many days before surgery to stop shaving. I only do it every three days or so anyway. I will follow the rules - it just seems like a lot and I hadn't seen it mentioned here.

I was told to shower the evening or morning before, using unscented soap and shampoo. Other than that I wasn't given any special products to use, although I've heard of that happening pretty frequently.

There's a lot of concerns these days in hospitals about antibiotic resistant bacteria, so I would assume that the extra precautions are to avoid such bacteria being carried in. But different hospitals require different precautions. My hospital ordered swabs for MRSA and VRE bacteria as part of my pre-op tests. I haven't yet met anyone else on this site who had similar swabs!

You need to do exactly what your doctor and your hospital told you to do, no more, no less.

Some are required to wash with a special soap yes.

If you didn’t pay attention to all the pre op requirements, i’d Suggest you contact the hospital, maybe they can email you the details.

I had the same instructions you were given. As mentioned above, there are a lot of infections and they are trying to minimize your risk.

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Originally Posted by EireJewells I had the same instructions you were given. As mentioned above, there are a lot of infections and they are trying to minimize your risk.

Not only yours - by minimizing the amount of bacteria you carry into the hospital on your skin (and we *all* have some bacteria on our skins), you'll also be minimizing the risk to other patients in the hospital.

I had to wash with a special soap the night before . When I arrived at the hospital they had me clean again with special wipes. I think it is important because you don’t want to risk that there may be some kind of bacteria on your skin when they do your surgery. They probably do it again when you are on the operating table right before surgery. I personally felt it was important to do whatever possible to stop any bacteria from entering the body and risk an infection.

Hi snowflake63 -

Sometimes those types of washes are required, sometimes not. If your doctor wants you to wash with that then do. The same with the sheets and your pets. It all depends on your doctor and hospital.

I also could not shave anything or have any nail polish. I forgot how long I could not shave (I do not wear nail polish). Here are articles that may help:
Shaving or Waxing before Hysterectomy
Nail Polish and Hysterectomy

It is okay to call the doctors office back and clarify instructions. They really will not mind, and it is best to get this right. It can come at you so fast during the visit that it makes your head spin