You will have been asked not to eat or drink for six hours prior to your surgery. If you are taking regular medication you should take it as normal with a small sip of water. Do not take any antibiotics on the day of your surgery.

You may require pre-operative investigations such as blood tests, x-rays or an electrocardiogram (ECG). These will be discussed with you at your consultation and our pre-assessment team will arrange for these to be undertaken prior to or on the day of surgery so as not to inconvenience you.

The anaesthetist will see you after you have been fully admitted for surgery. He will ensure that you are fit for anaesthetic and will ask you to sign a consent form. At this point you will be able to ask any questions or voice any concerns that you may have.

When the surgeon and the anaesthetist are ready for you to go to the Operating Department they will call the ward and a nurse will take you to the anaesthetic room that is linked to the operating theatre.

The anaesthetic nurse will check you in and the anaesthetist will be present. Normally the anaesthetic begins via a small injection into your hand. Within a few seconds, you will feel drowsy and then become unconscious. Most people consider this to be a warm and pleasant feeling.

The anaesthetist will be with you at all times during the surgery and use sophisticated equipment to monitor your breathing, heart and circulation throughout the operation. Modern anaesthetics are extremely safe. Some people, however, are prone to nausea following anaesthetics; if you have been sick with a previous anaesthetic please advise the anaesthetist as specific medications can be given to help prevent this.

When the operation is over you will wake up in the recovery room. Here specialist nurses will care for you until you are ready to return to the ward.