Pre-op appointment

My surgery has been scheduled for March 19, 2013

Yesterday Feb 20th I had my pre-op appointment at the hospital.  It was to see all the different departments that would be involved on surgery day to get detailed information on how everything will work and to ask all our questions.

The day started very well.  We arrived at 8 am and were taken into a large room where we were greeted by our nurse for the day.  She went through my forms, asked lots of questions, and explained the basic outline for surgery day (what time to arrive, where the waiting room for my family is, where I will be taken after surgery, etc).

Next I had a quick ECG so that they could get a look at my heart rhythms.  I have two congenital heart issues that I already knew about.  I have a prolapsed mitral valve and a right bundle branch blockage.  In the past they have caused a lot of chest pain when under extreme amounts of stress but in the past year I have rarely had any symptoms.

Next we saw the pharmacist who went through all the supplements that I am on and explained about post op medications.

Then we had the donor nurse come in.  She explained the that the likelihood of me needing a blood transfusion during surgery was high and that I could be my own blood donor if my iron (haemoglobin) store were high enough.  She explained the entire procedure and when I could go and do this and where.  Donating your own blood decreases the likelihood of your body rejecting or having a reaction to that much blood being put into your body.

My blood work came back and my levels were great!  I could be my own donor.

Next we saw the anesthesiologist.  She was very concerned about my heart issues and was worried about how my heart would handle the surgery.  She has referred me to the Internal Medicine Unit at the hospital so that they can take a closer look at my heart before surgery.

Here is when everything changed.  The only appointment they could get me with this department isn't until March 14th (5 days before my scheduled surgery).  If this department wants more tests my surgery may be postponed.  They could also decide that it is not safe for me to do the surgery at all.

Along with all of this, it also means that I can no longer be my own blood donor.  We need at least 10 days from when I donate to the date of my surgery for my haemoglobin stores to regenerate and since my appointment is only 5 days before that is no longer an option.  They don't want me to donate before if there is a chance of me not having the surgery as then my stores will be low and all that blood goes to waste as they will not use it on anyone else.

Next the surgical resident came in.  She went over all the details about my surgery with regards to exactly what they would be doing, step by step.  She also tested the range of motion in my hip and measured my leg length difference.

After all of this we went to get new x-rays.  We were stuck there for an hour and 45 minutes due to a back up and we missed our physio appointment so I don't have any details to tell you about what they expect for me post op at the moment.

So that is where I currently stand.  We need to wait out the next 3 weeks until my heart appointment before knowing if the surgery is a go or not...