Preparing for Surgery
No one wants to have surgery. It is an invasive assault on your body. However, the surgeries that are now available to help diagnose and treat infertility are amazingly helpful. You may find that they become a necessary part of your diagnosis and or treatment. Care is often made by your infertility team to limit the number of surgeries required. Usually other tests are done first to help predict what will be found during surgery.
By using other tests and procedures you can plan ahead for your surgery and potentially not only diagnose your fertility problem, but treat it as well. This can be a great help to you during the course of your treatment. Here are helpful tips you can use in preparing yourself for surgery that can help make your surgery a bit less scary.
Talk to Your PhysicianBe sure that you know not only what surgery is being performed but what other surgeries might also be required while you will already be asleep and unable to give consent for them at that time. Remember to research the training and history of the procedure and the physician performing it. Ask specifically about who will be with your doctor and what their qualifications are prior to the surgery. Also know what the potential risks and complications are from the surgery.
Before SurgeryThe night before surgery you may have special instructions to follow. This may be something as simple as to take a shower from head to toe. You will also want to be sure that you remove all makeup and fingernail polish. Leave all jewelry at home, even your wedding rings. The hospital is no place for jewelry. If you absolutely must take jewelry, be sure to give it to your husband or partner as you are heading off to the operating room. It can get in the way of monitoring equipment or even fall off during surgery.
Be sure to ask your fertility team if there are any other specific instructions. This might even be something as simple as remembering to bring X-rays or test results with you to the hospital. You should also plan to have someone stay with you or at least take you and be there when you wake up or when you are being discharged.
Do not eat after midnight, or whatever time your doctor tells you. This is very important advice. If you eat or drink anything after the designated time, you could aspirate during your surgery and become very ill or even die. If your doctor or anesthesiology team find out that you have eaten recently, your surgery will probably be canceled and rescheduled for a later date and time.
Surgery is often a step used in the diagnosis and treatment of infertility. As a part of your infertility evaluation it can provide your doctor and other fertility experts with a method of testing, evaluating, and treating you. There are many types of surgeries that can be performed. Which one is best for your diagnosis will depend on many factors. Your fertility team will discuss the option of surgery — and its risks, benefits, and proposed outcomes — with you and your partner ahead of time.
