Get ready for surgery, step by step
Answer six short questions about your health and home. You will get a personal preparation checklist you can tick off week by week, print out, and share with your family. It takes about a minute.
This is an educational tool, not medical clearance. The pre-anaesthesia check-up at the hospital is where fitness for surgery is actually decided, and your surgical team's instructions always take priority over this page.
Step 1 · Six quick questions
Preparing for surgery · Dr. Vishnu Baburaj, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Aster MIMS Kannur
drvishnubaburaj.com/prepare-for-surgery · Helpline 0497 353 8000 · Emergency 9656 111 666
Step 2 · Work through it
Your preparation plan
Your plan has 18 steps. You have ticked 0.
Ticks are saved on this device, so you can come back to this page any time. Items with a small gold label appear because of your answers above.
Start now
The earlier these begin, the smoother everything after them becomes.
About two weeks before
The hospital takes over some of this; your job is to arrive with no surprises.
The final week
Small logistics, sorted early, make surgery day calm.
An educational checklist, not medical clearance: the pre-anaesthesia check-up and your surgical team's instructions always take priority. Sugar-control targets follow published orthopaedic guidance; read the full guide to knee replacement with diabetes.
And is the house ready for your return?
Walk through your home room by room, written for Kerala houses: the bathroom question, bed height, night lighting, stairs, and what the caregiver should know.
Packed and prepared. What does the day itself look like?
Walk through your surgery day hour by hour, from the night before to going home, including what your attendant should expect.
Common questions
Preparing for surgery, answered
Does this checklist replace the pre-anaesthesia check-up?
No. This checklist helps you organise the weeks before surgery, but the pre-anaesthesia check-up at the hospital is the medical gate. The anaesthesia team reviews your blood tests, heart fitness, and medicines, and their instructions always take priority over this page.
Why does blood sugar control matter before joint replacement?
High blood sugar makes wound-healing problems and infection more likely after surgery. Most orthopaedic guidelines recommend an HbA1c below 8% before elective joint replacement, and ideally closer to 7%. If your levels are higher, surgery is usually postponed for a few weeks while your physician helps you improve them, not cancelled.
When should I stop smoking before surgery?
As early as possible. Smoking reduces blood flow to healing tissue and is linked with more wound and bone-healing problems after orthopaedic surgery. Stopping even four weeks before the operation gives your body a meaningful head start, and stopping for good is better still.
What should I bring on the day of admission?
Bring all your recent X-rays, scans, and blood reports, a single list of every medicine you take (including ayurvedic or herbal preparations), your insurance or scheme documents, spectacles or hearing aids if you use them, and loose comfortable clothing with slip-on footwear. An attendant should accompany you.