A hysterectomy sounds scarier than it really is, but you should still take careful steps to prepare yourself for this routine surgical procedure. Since you will probably feel very nervous before surgery, making a check list and following it in the time leading up to your hysterectomy can keep your mind focused on something positive rather than dwelling in worry and fear.
Your surgeons will be incredibly skilled, but you still want to give them all the help you can get. The surgeons can’t do it all for you. Getting physically ready for surgery will help lessen your hysterectomy recovery time. Be sure to ask and ask again about what they want you to do, such as when to shower, or what you shoould bring to the hospital. Each hospital has its own requirements.
Generally, in the days right before your hysterectomy, you will be asked to:
- Stop smoking
- Remove any nail polish
- Stop taking any medications your surgeon recommends you stop taking (such as blood thinners)
- Start getting in the habit of eating smaller, regular meals. You may be required to shift to an all-liquid diet one or two days before surgery.
- Line up someone to drive you to the hospital and back. You will not be able to drive for weeks after your hysterectomy.
The night before, you should get these things ready:
- A list of any medications you are allowed to continue to take
- A few nightgowns that are loose at the waist
- Eyeglasses or hearing aids (if necessary)
- A book or other amusement
- Hard candy
- A large, clear label on your luggage or day bag
- Take off all jewelry
- Don’t eat the night before
- Take purgatory medicine to clean out your bowels if prescribed If not, douche or have an enema
- Shave your pubic hair
Picturing yourself going through your hysterectomy can help lessen your anxiety about the surgery. It becomes less mysterious and you feel a bit more in control with your knowledge of what is happening to your body.
Information On Laparoscopic Hysterectomy
Also called a laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy or LAVH, this procedure is a huge advance from the usual abdominal hysterectomy. The recovery time is much quicker, the three incisions smaller and your hospital stay is shorter. With the help of small instruments including a tiny camera, the ovaries, tubes and uterus can be safely removed. With this procedure, there is much less of a chance of a prolapse of the pelvis than with the usual abdominal hysterectomy.
Each hospital or laparoscopy surgical center should provide you with a list of the specific preparations you will need, but following the prepartion list for an abdominal hysterectomy can’t hurt.
Resources
“Berek & Novak’s Gynecology.” Jonathan S. Berek and Emil Novak. Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins; 2007.
Family Doctor UK. “Preparation for a Hysterectomy.” 2010. http://www.familydoctor.co.uk/info/hysterectomy-preparation-for
Medicine Net. “Laparoscopically Assisted Vaginal Hysterectomy (LAVH.)” Melissa Conrad St¶ppler, MD. http://www.medicinenet.com/laparoscopically_assisted_vaginal_hysterectomy/article.htm
