So you've got your surgery scheduled, been through the pre-op appointments, got your prep ready to go and have the time when you're supposed to report to the hospital. And then it begins about a week before surgery: first a tickly throat, then a little sinus congestion, pretty soon a cough and before you know it, you're coming down to the wire and you're undeniably getting a big nasty ol' virus.
And this is the time of year when we see this most. The holiday season and early January seem to be popular times to schedule a hyst, but that's right at a time when holiday preparation stresses plus the higher exposure from shopping and visiting make us both more vulnerable and more available to pick up any little respiratory bug that's going around. And, of course, least wanting to see this happen. But it does, frequently.
The first thing to do is admit that wishful thinking is most likely not going to be an effective tactic. Waiting and hoping that it will go away is only going to take you down to the wire without having made any preparations for dealing with the situation. Here's the bottom line right away: yes, your surgery will canceled if you are sick when you arrive at the hospital. And that's as it should be: plans are one thing, but in some cases it simply isn't safe to have anesthesia and surgery when you are already ill. Is keeping to a schedule to die for, literally? Rationally: not. I'm not saying you don't deserve a few tantrums on the subject--it is woefully unfair. But there you have it.
So how do you cope with this? By admitting what's going on as soon as you notice it. Don't hide your head in the sand and do the wishful thinking thing. Instead, at the first suspicion of illness, start taking mega-good care of yourself. Most winter illnesses are viral, which means that antibiotics won't help them. The most important thing to do with a viral illness is supporting your own immune system's work in fighting it off. These are old trite remedies, but they remain the best:
- Do get plenty of fluids.
- Do rest when you are tired (I know, that's hard to do when you merge pre-op panic with holiday panic, but go back up and reread that bottom line if you're waffling).
- Do turn to the fruits and vegies for vitamins and get plenty of them, every day before surgery.
- Don't chug the vitamin pills: some of those may be on your list of things to stop pre-op because of effects they may have on blood clotting.
- Don't eat aspirin or tylenol thinking you're helping out: your body uses a mild fever to help fight infection, so unless it's very high, it's helping rather than hurting.
- Don't gobble cold remedies or herbs: many of them also suppress your own defenses or contain things that are contraindicated before surgery.
If you are down to that final week and counting, coming down with something also means that you need to call your surgeon. Yes, it does. Waiting until Friday night after office hours are over before you finally admit that you're not going to be well by your 7 am Monday surgery call cuts it too fine. That robs you of planning and effective treatment time, and is discourteous to the surgical staff who are expecting to see you in the OR on Monday morning. If you are in that final week and feeling the first sneaky tendrils of viral invasion or you've been fighting something all last week and aren't sure you're going to make it in time, pick up the phone at the start of that week and make your confession.
Your doctor will be the best person to advise you on whether you need to be evaluated in the office and on what particular remedies may or may not be safe preoperatively. And by bringing him in early, you are being both considerate of his time and giving him a chance to help that surgery actually be able to happen as scheduled. The antibiotics you receive during surgery are not going to turn a chest cold around and your anesthesiologist isn't going to want to work with someone with a head and chest full of snot. If you are down to the wire and it's the weekend before a Monday surgery, go ahead and call the office number and tell the answering service you have a Monday surgery, are sick, and need to speak with the on-call person covering for your doctor. Don't try to second guess your doctors with just how sick you are: the decision on how sick is too sick is a specialized one they need to make.
And if you need to reschedule, the person who has let their doctor and hospital staff know in advance that this is a pending situation and a possibility is going to get way better service than someone who shows up at the hospital Monday morning in no shape to go to the OR. And don't you want your surgical team on your side? I thought so.
Please do the mature and responsible thing, here. If you're suspecting illness and you're down to the final week before surgery, get in touch with your doctor and stay in touch. Make arrangements on Friday (or right before a holiday) if you think the situation will remain volatile through the weekend before a Monday/post-holiday surgery. It happens. Your doctor knows it; your OR team knows it. No one will blame you--if you do everything responsible to keep everyone informed and seek advice early. They'll get you rescheduled as soon as possible if you have to cancel. That's not ideal, but that's better than trying to go into the OR already sick. That's not good for anybody involved.
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