You will receive specific information for your operation by post in advance of your operation. This will provide details of when you need to arrive, whether you can eat or drink before surgery and post operative instructions.
Generally the following applies:
1. Time of arrival: 08.00 for a morning operating list and 12.30 for the afternoon
2. Eating restrictions:
General or regional anaesthesia: You are required not to eat for 6 hours before surgery. For a morning operating list this means nothing to eat from midnight and for an afternoon operating list you may have a light breakfast. You can drink water for up to 2 hours before surgery,
Please note - coffee, tea, sweets (including cough sweets and mints) land chewing gum are considered as food and must not be taken for 6 hours before your operating. If you have not followed these instructions the anaesthetist is likely to cancel your surgery.
Local anaesthesia: There are generally no restrictions on what you can eat before operations performed using just local anaesthesia. Please remember that even though regional anaesthesia uses local anaesthetic and you are awake, the pre-operative requirements are identical to those of a general anaesthetic.
3. Going home:
Smeone will need to pick you up after your surgery. You will be unable to drive as your arm will be in a sling and if you have had a regional anaesthetic your arm may be still numb.