Your Surgery

Follow the Directions Provided By Sound Hand & Orthopedics

Your physician will provide you with specific instructions following your surgery or procedure. If you have questions about your post surgery care, contact our office: (206) 257-3350

Remember to: 

• Take your pain medicine as directed. For the first 2-3 days, begin the pain medicine as you start getting uncomfortable, but before you are in severe pain. If you wait to take your pain medication until the pain is severe, you will have more difficulty controlling the pain.

If you feel throbbing after surgery, it is most commonly caused by a tight dressing.  People complain that they can “feel their heartbeat” at the operative site.  The reason this happens is that the area swells and the dressing doesn’t stretch enough to accommodate it.

The best solution is prevention. To do that, we recommend elevating the limb.  This allows the fluid to drain out of the limb rather than collect in the area due to gravity.

Icing or cold gel packs also help prevent swelling.  We don’t want you to get frostbite so we don’t recommend placing ice against bare skin, icing more than 20 minutes at a time, or continued icing if the area goes numb from the cold.

Should the dressing become tight and you feel achy throbbing, the first step is to try ice and elevation.  If that doesn’t work, however, the dressing needs to be released.

Ensure you are managing your medications properly before surgery. Work with your physician to understand how your specific medications will impact your surgery preparation.

The following are general instructions on when to stop certain medications but follow your doctor’s instructions for what medications to stop and when to stop.

• Two weeks before your procedure
  – Stop taking all herbal supplements
  – Stop taking your GLP-1
• Three days before your procedure
  – Stop taking all nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory
  medications (NSAIDs) such as:
  • Diclofenac (Voltaren)
  • Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin)
  • Ketorolac (Toradol)
  • Meloxicam (Mobic)
  • Naproxen (Aleve, Anaprox, Naprosyn)
• 24 hours before surgery
  – Stop your Metformin
• On the morning of your surgery or procedure
  – Take your prescribed medications that your
  doctor has told you to continue, including
  narcotic medication.
  – Take your Beta Blocker (Metoprolol)
  – Do not take the following drugs for high blood
  pressure the morning of surgery:
  • Lisinopril or Losartan
  – Do not take any diuretics the morning of
  surgery, such as Lasix, but if you have heart
  failure please ask you cardiologist first.

Before your surgery, call the specific facility to confirm that you don’t need any further lab testing prior to your procedure.

Unless instructed otherwise by your doctor, you must follow these diet instructions before your surgery or procedure.

Exceptions to this include patients with gastroparesis, diabetes, GERD, who are pregnant, obese or having esophageal or gastric surgery, please check with your surgeon. They may advise stopping all liquids and solids 8 hours prior to arrival.

8 hours before your surgery arrival time: 

• STOP eating all solid foods and drinking liquids you cannot see through, as well as the following:
  • NO milk or dairy products
  • NO coffee creamer
  • NO chewing gum
  • NO lozenges
  • NO alcohol

You may drink clear liquids such as water, Gatorade, plain gelatin, apple juice without pulp, clear tea or black coffee.

2 hours before your surgery arrival time: 

• STOP drinking all liquids except for medications, as directed by your doctor.

Please plan for your discharge needs with family and/or friends prior to your surgery/procedure.

• If you are scheduled to go home the same day as your procedure, you MUST have an adult escort to accompany you. Failure to do so might result in your surgery/procedure being canceled. You may NOT drive yourself or travel home by bus. You may take a taxi or car service but you still must have another adult go with you.
• If your doctor admits you to the hospital overnight, you may be discharged early the next day, possibly by 10 a.m. Depending on your procedure, you may be required to have an adult escort accompany you home.
  • We suggest you have someone with you at home after your surgery/procedure to help with shopping, childcare, lifting, cooking, cleaning, etc.

Follow the Directions Provided By Sound Hand & Orthopedics

If you have questions about where to go for your surgery or procedure, please call our office: (206) 257-3350

• Wear loose, comfortable clothing and shoes.
• Bring your medical and pharmacy insurance cards, a government or state-issued photo ID, and the ID card for any implanted medical device you may have.
• Bring money for parking and possible discharge medication co-payments, which are separate from the hospital bill. Do not bring valuables with you like extra cash, jewelry and electronic devices such as computers, readers and gaming devices.
  • If you bring valuables, they will be returned to your family and/or visitor for safe keeping.
• Bring your CPAP machine and notation of your settings.
• Bring any legal documentation for power of attorney or legal guardian.
• Bring your Advance Directives.