Preparing for surgery.

0:00 Speaker 1 What is today Easter Sunday is doctor Peter Mihelos and our motto live long and prosper Doctor Michelos this holiday weekend. What is on your mind that you feel that we can give advice to all our listeners.

0:20 Speaker 2 Well. One of the important things that we may encounter in our life is having surgery, and what we want to do on WABC is always try to give people tips on how to live long and prosper and having surgery, as I’ve taught my medical students and residents for many years.

0:38 For the surgeons, you’re only as good as your last operation, but a patient can also be actively involved in preparing for surgery. One of the first important things is to make sure that you’re not on any blood thinners before your operation, and if you are, you have to specifically ask not only your surgeon, but you’re cardiologist. For example,

0:59 if you’re on a for hard reasons, when you can stop the blood thinners and how many days before and when you should restart it, So that should be on your list of questions. Another thing that happens because surgery causes you to have anesthesia and narcotics, your bowels don’t work as well, and especially if you have abdominal surgery

1:19 or hernia surgery, you don’t want to be straining and get constipated, which is a side effect of some of the medicines. So it’s a good idea to ask your doctor about taking a stool soltner like cola several days before the surgery so you have less strain and less bowel strain, which can cause a wound to rupture. The

1:40 other thing that you want to do is before you go into surgery. If you’re having your knee done or your hip done, you want to wash that area really well the night before in the morning of a very strong soap that they use before surgeries, which you can buy in a pharmacy is called pibloqlins. Another one is

1:55 good old dial antibacterial so but wash the area very well well. Another thing is wear loose clothing that’s easy to put on and take off, because you have to get dressed after surgery sometimes. And the other thing is to go through the list of even your nutraceuticals and vitamins, because things like omega three fatty acids, vitamin ekva, gingsen,

2:18 ginko below, but garlic are all known to thin the blood and ginko. There were even some cases of spontaneous bleeds in the brain, which is a problem of course, things like aspirin and ibuprofen, which has several names, the motrin, the advil name, but it’s all the same compound. And also things like a leave which is napresent. Those are

2:41 all anti platelets. Playlets are what goes our blood to clot so you want to stop those things. They usually tell you a week before because you want to make a fresh bunch of playlets. The other thing is you want to try to avoid surgery in July and August.

2:54 I tell people why, because guess what happens July. First, all the new interns come in, the new residents, all the experienced ones go on graduate, go into private practice, and leave. So that’s a big turnover time in hospital.

3:07 So if you can avoid elective surgery, it’s a good idea. If you’re in another state and sometimes you have difficulty finding a surgeon, you can always look up who the director of residency training is as the director of fellowship training, because that’s the doctor who trains and teaches other students and other junior doctors, and those are usually some of

3:27 the top people. If you’re in another state and after surgery, take it easy. Don’t try to lift heavy things, and follow all the instructions of your doctor and the wound care and ask questions doctor, do I need antibiotics after my surgery? And what other when you can restart your medicine.

3:48 For example, if you’re a diabetic, you don’t take your full amount of insulin the morning, ask your doctor. They usually cut it in half. Why because you’re not eating so you don’t want your blood sugar to drop. They usually tell you to take your blood pressure with a small sip of water. The reason why we don’t eat

4:02 or drink after midnight is because they don’t want you to have emesis or vomiting during the surgery, which can go down into your lungs. It’s called aspiration, and that’s why they want an empty stomach and also the stress of surgery. Oftentimes, sometimes they put you on an ant acid to help and afterwards, if you’re nauseous, don’t be

4:22 afraid to ask. There are medicines, modern medicines like zofran they give you and it stops the nausea immediately. But you have to be your advocate, and I advise people bring somebody with them to advocate on their behalf because they have try anesthesia. Sometimes you really can’t advocate on your behalf. And always try to do your research and

4:43 get the best doctors and best surgeons. But even in the hands of best surgeons, you can still have complications. But these are some of the tips to help you get through surgery safe and healthy. And modern surgery has advanced tremendously and the results are quite amazing, and we’re very fortunate that we’re in the United States and we

5:04 have very good outcomes with surgery most of the time.

5:08 Speaker 1 Well, thank you doctor. I always wondered why you can’t eat after midnight the day of a surgery or the day of anything like that. Now I know, and thank you for letting me snow that information. What do you We just want to wish you a happy holiday weekend, a happy Easter weekend.

5:29 Speaker 2 And please be careful everyone because COVID is on the rise again. We are seeing some depths again, so try to test early. If you get diagnosed, get an anti viral immediately and try to block the replication of the virus.

5:43 But it’s still out there, it’s still real and during the holiday gatherings. If someone is coughing or f fever, headache, or loss of smell, you probably should try to avoid the Easter table and go sit in another area, or try to stay away from others, especially the elderly and the more sustaettable to the COVID virus. So continue to

6:03 take precautions, eat healthy, take your vitamin D and your vitamin C, and consult with your physician and stay healthy and listen to WABC.

6:12 Speaker 1 Thank you so much. I have a great holiday weekend and we’ll catch up again real soon.

6:16 Speaker 2 Thank you John, Happy Easter it all, and thanks for always getting the truth out on the Cats Roundtable.