Prior to your surgery, you will receive a call from the Nurse Navigator. At this time, you will receive information pertinent to your surgery. You also will be asked to provide information regarding your medical and surgical history and insurance coverage.

If you have not heard from the admitting nurse at least two days before surgery, please call (847) 990.5321.

Preadmission Testing

To be certain that you are healthy before your operation, laboratory tests need to be performed one to seven days before surgery. If you are going to receive general anesthetic, these tests will usually include, but are not limited to:

• Complete blood count
• Urinalysis
• Chest X-ray
• Electrocardiogram

These tests may be done at Condell's Laboratory, which is located on the lower level of the medical center. Testing is done:

Monday through Friday, 7 am to 6 pm Saturdays, 7 am to 3 pm
To make an appointment for a lab test, call central scheduling at (847) 990.6000. For a listing of routine laboratory tests with explanations, click here.

Your physician may also do the testing in his/her office. If your preadmission testing have been done elsewhere, please bring copies of the test results with you on the day of surgery.

Diet

If you are receiving a general or IV anesthetic, you should have nothing to eat or drink after midnight. After midnight, you should abstain from food and water, as it will help prevent vomiting and respiratory complications during and after surgery. This includes chewing gum, lozenges, hard candy, or even swallowing water while brushing your teeth.

The only exception to the above restriction is taking medicine(s) the morning of surgery if prescribed by your physician. The Condell Admission Nurse will instruct you on which of your medications to take.You may take them ONLY with enough sips of water to swallow the medication.

Pre-operative Showers

Studies have shown that cleaning the skin before surgery helps to prevent post operative infections. You will be instructed to shower the night before and the morning of surgery with a skin cleaner called Chlorhexidine. This can be purchased at you local pharmacy. The Admission nurse will give you more instructions during your preoperative telephone interview.

Smoking

You are encouraged to stop smoking for as long as possible before surgery, preferably for 24 hours, but certainly for a minimum of 12 hours. A reduction in smoking definitely decreases the risk of respiratory problems, such as pneumonia, after surgery.

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