Pre-op Cranial Surgery Instructions

General

• You will require a pre-admission clinic assessment and will be notified by the Admitting Hospital the appointment date & time for this.
• Please notify us if you have any of the following conditions as you may need specialist assessment prior to surgery
  • Diabetes
  • Heart disease
  • Kidney disease
  • Lung disease
  • Sleep apnoea
• Anti-clotting medications that interferes with your clotting ability will need to be ceased between 3 and 10 days prior to surgery. This includes medications such as aspirin (Cartia, Astrix), clopidogrel (Plavix, Coplavix), asasantin,rivaroxaban (Xarelto), apixaban (Eliquis), dabigatran (Pradaxa). Instructions with regards to the timing for this will be advised to you on confirmation of the surgical date.
• If you take any herbal preparations, please advise the Practice as some of these can also interfere with your clotting ability and therefore increase the bleeding risk for surgery.
• If you have had a stent placed in your heart, brain and other blood vessels, please contact your treating physician and confirm that you can be taken OFF the anti-clotting medication prior to the surgery.
• If you are a diabetic, notify the Pre-Admission Clinic to receive instructions on your fasting times just prior to surgery and the instructions on the use of these medications.
• If you suffer from a Latex Allergy or have had an Adverse Anaesthetic reaction, please notify the Pre-Admission Clinic and contact the Anaesthetist who will be performing your anaesthesia prior to the date of surgery.
• If you have a pacemaker, notify the surgeon in order to organize appropriate equipment for surgery that will be pacemaker friendly.
• Continued smoking before and after surgery will increase your risk for lung complications, delay bone and wound healing, and increase the risk of infection. For the best results, you will need to stop smoking 4 weeks before surgery and 3-6 months after surgery.

Surgery specific

• Please obtain all patient information regarding your planned surgical procedure from the Practice.
• If you still are unsure about your procedure, please contact the Practice to organise an appointment for a face to face consult with your Surgeon and/or Nurse Practitioner to go through the expectations and anticipated outcomes for surgery vs no surgery and type of surgery.
• Confirm the date of your surgery with the Practice.
• Confirm with your Health Fund that you are covered for your planned surgery. You may need to have item numbers used for the procedure.
• You will need to bring your appropriate scans to the hospital for your surgery.
• Failure to have your scans present on the day of surgery may result in a cancellation or postponement of the procedure.
• You will likely require a pre-operative planning MRI scan performed the day prior to surgery. This will be organised by the practice and completed after your admission to hospital.