My Spine - Cervical
Please notify the staff if you have had any cardiac surgery , previous unnatural reactions to medications , have a pace maker , are a diabetic , have allergies or suffer from any infective diseases . Make sure that you understand when exactly you should stop eating and plan your trip to the hospital so that you do not have to rush to the hospital on the day of admission . Wear comfortable clothes and slip-on shoes and pack sleepwear and toiletries . Leave valuables at home , but your hearing apparatus , spectacles and dentures should be taken along .
The operation
You will be allocated a time-slot on the theatre list and this is usually an indication of what time you can expect to go to theatre . There are several practical and technical reasons why your operation slot may be changed . Sometimes an emergency case will cause a long delay and your operation might even have to be cancelled . This is , however , not the norm .
At some stage following your admission , the nursing staff will notify you when it is time for you to go to theatre . You will be taken to theatre on your bed and will normally wait for a short while in a waiting area . You will then be moved into the theatre . The anaesthetist will put a drip up to allow the anaesthetic agents to be administered . It is typical that the medication will cause a burning feeling in your arm as you are put to sleep . This is normal and the sensation will quickly pass .
All vital signs ( heart rate , blood pressure , breathing , oxygen concentration of the blood and many more parameters ) will be measured for the full duration of your operation . The number of parameters that are monitored is dependent on your physical condition and whether you have certain risk factors .
Please see the specific chapters regarding procedures and operations for technical data about the operation that your specialist is suggesting .
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