Day of Surgery
Do not eat or drink anything for 8 hours before your scheduled surgery time.
Timing
When you come to the hospital or surgery center at the scheduled time, you will have paperwork to complete. Following that, you will be interviewed by a nurse, and the anesthesiologist. Finally, I will speak to you, and we can go over the plan for surgery again. If you have any further questions, I will answer then for you then.
If you will have outpatient surgery, expect to spend 3 – 4 hours total at the surgery center. You must have someone who can drive you home from the surgery center.
Wash Your Foot
Please wash your foot or ankle the night before your surgery. You can use regular soap and water for this.
It is not necessary to remove nail polish when you have foot surgery.
Assistive Devices
You will be given crutches or a walker at the surgery center, if your post-operative care will require their use. If you think you will require a wheelchair, it is easier to arrange for that prior to the day of surgery.
Anesthesia
For a discussion about Anesthesia go here.
Surgery Site Verification
Prior to the surgery, before you go into the operating room, you will be asked by the nurses and also by me to verify the proper site of surgery. This is done to ensure that no mistakes are made about the location of the incision. I would encourage you to mark the opposite side with a "no" using indelible ink, and mark the proper side with a "yes" before you come from home.
Wrong Site Surgery
Wrong site surgical errors can be catastrophic for the patient and the surgeon. These errors can result from a number of causes. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has an advisory statement that discusses the problem and recommends actions that can be taken to prevent this from happening. I completely agree with their discussion and recommendations. I work with each of the hospitals and surgery centers to eliminate the causes of these errors.
To see the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons advisory statement, please go here.
The Joint Commission also has an advisory statement about this problem. They have a link to Tips for Prevention of Wrong Site Surgery. Go here to see them.