Common questions & resources
14 Days Prior to Surgery
- Avoid aspirin, Motrin, Aleve (NSAID pain relieves) unless prescribed by your healthcare provider. If your healthcare provider has prescribed them, keep taking it. These products will thin the blood and make it more difficult to control bleeding. If you have aches and pains, take Tylenol instead. But again, if you have been told to take them, please keep taking them
- Stop taking Vitamin E, Ginkgo, Garlic, Ginseng, Glucosamine, Fish Oil, and St. Johns Wort. These products will thin the blood and make it more difficult to control bleeding.
- DO NOT STOP TAKING COUMADIN OR PLAVIX.
- Please inform us if you have Mitral Valve Prolapse, heart valve replacements, prosthetic joints, joint replacement surgery, a pacemaker, a defibrillator, or if you are a diabetic. If you have any of these conditions, we can take extra precautions to keep you as safe as possible during, and after, the surgery.
- You will need to return to the clinic 5-21 days after your surgical appointment for suture removal. Please mark this on your calendar.
- Purchase an Vaseline prior to your surgery date so that you have it at home for use after your surgery. Sometimes we do need you to use a Vaseline after your surgery and so it is nice to have on hand.
The Day of Surgery
- Enjoy a normal meal and drink a normal amount of water at the normal times on the day of surgery. We would rather have you fed and satisfied than hungry and miserable.
- Shower before the surgery as you might not be able to for a number of days afterward.
- Wear a dark colored button-up shirt and comfortable non-constrictive pants; white is a bad color for surgery.
- If you tend to get cold easily, bring an extra jacket.
- We recommend that you bring a companion, especially if you think you might have a problem driving home.
- Pay attention to the post-operative surgery instructions we will give you.
- If surgery is on lower legs – before stepping out of bed, put on compression socks.
After Surgery Care
- Avoid taking Motrin, Motrin-like products, Vitamin E, Ginko, Garlic, Ginseng, Glucosamine, Fish Oil, and St. Johns Wort for 3 days after the surgery.
- If you stopped taking aspirin prior to surgery, continue to avoid aspirin for 2 days after surgery.
- However, as noted under the heading “10 Days Prior to Surgery”, if your healthcare provider prescribed aspirin for you, continue taking it.