What happens during an operation?
Once you’re in the operating theatre, you breathe oxygen through a mask. Your anaesthetist gives you medicine to prevent pain, and put you to sleep (if you are having a general anaesthetic).
Your surgical team will monitor your health carefully during the whole procedure. They will use:
- A clip on your finger to measure your oxygen levels
- A cuff on your arm to check your blood pressure
- Pads on your chest to watch your heart rate.
How will my surgical team keep me from getting an infection?
Before the surgery starts, a nurse cleans your skin with an antiseptic to help prevent infection. They may remove hair from the area and place a sterile drape over your body. It will have an opening in the place where the surgeon will work.
It is rare to get an infection during surgery. Your team does everything it can to protect you. Your doctors and nurses will:
- Clean their hands and arms up to their elbows with a germ-killing cleaner before the operation
- Wear masks, gowns, and gloves
- Clean the part of your body where the surgery is being done with a germ-killing soap
- Clean and cover the cut afterward.
They may also give you antibiotics before your procedure to help prevent an infection.
Where will I go after my surgery?
You will wake up in a recovery room. A nurse checks your heart rate, oxygen levels, and blood pressure – and the bandaged area where your procedure was done. They might also ask you to take deep breaths and cough to clear your lungs.
You will stay in the recovery room until you are fully awake; and heart rate, oxygen levels, and blood pressure, are stable. How much time you spend there depends on what kind of surgery you had.
After that, depending on the type of operation you had, you will get sent to a hospital ward or back home. Either way, you will be ready to be greeted by your loved ones and begin the road to recovery.
