Prepare For Surgery
- A good, well balanced diet will help you to heal properly.
- Eliminate simple carbs/sugars from your diet and start eating complex carbs and adequate amounts of protein rich foods.
- Spinach salads are a great source for providing vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, calcium iron and more. Green leafy salads are your friend. This can even include cabbage leaves and leaves from the broccoli plant. I pick them directly from my garden and cut into salad.
- It is very important to mellow out your glucose levels. High glucose levels slow healing.
- Starting 1 month prior to surgery, I took one multi-vitamin, twice daily, and one vitamin C tab (500mg), once per day. Talk to you physician to find out when you should stop taking your supplements prior to surgery. Some docs say three weeks, some say one week, some advocate taking a multi all the way up until surgery, which is what mine did.
- Do not ingest any kinds of COX2 inhibitors, at least 3-4 weeks prior to surgery. COX2 inhibitors will extend bleed time and slow healing. Foods, such as garlic, onion, ginger, green teas, turmeric, cayenne and some other herbs are natural COX2 inhibitors. No flax oil/seed, vitamin E (okay within your multivitamin 200-400iu), fish oils or omega 3. No aspirin, aspirin compounds, ibuprophen, etc.
- Drink plenty of water to ensure that your body is kept adequately hydrated.
- Exercise helps to prepare you for the surgical marathon. I started climbing 4 flights of stairs 2-3 times per day, about 6-7 months, prior to surgery. However, even one month of exercise would be helpful.
- Take good, deep breaths and slowly exhale to exercise your lungs.
- If you smoke...stop, preferably for good, but at least a minimum of 4 weeks, prior to surgery. 3-4 months or more would be ideal...otherwise, you are jeopardizing the success of the surgery, where the vessels and healing are concerned. The longer the abstinence, the greater potential for success. You will not be able to resume smoking for at least 3-6 weeks post surgery.
- For three days prior to surgery, as well as the morning of surgery, wash your body from neck to thighs with Hibiclens soap. Hibiclens is an antibacterial soap that helps to eliminate staph bacteria from our bodies. Our skin surfaces contain staph bacteria, naturally. The goal is to eliminate as much of the bacteria as is possible, in a effort to reduce the chance of exposure around the surgical area. You can purchase Hibiclens from drug stores, such as Walgreens, for about $10 a bottle.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you have done the best that you can to make your body as healthy as you can get it, prior to surgery. It is a team effort. You do the best you can for yourself, and the docs will do the rest. Wishing you an easy and speedy recovery.
Disclaimer: Information presented within the pages of this website is, for the most part, that of my opinion and for informational purposes only and not to be used in place of the advice of your medical provider. You are strongly encouraged to seek the advice of your medical provider and to conduct your own research on any topic of interest, for fact finding.
- A good, well balanced diet will help you to heal properly.
- Eliminate simple carbs/sugars from your diet and start eating complex carbs and adequate amounts of protein rich foods.
- Spinach salads are a great source for providing vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, calcium iron and more. Green leafy salads are your friend. This can even include cabbage leaves and leaves from the broccoli plant. I pick them directly from my garden and cut into salad.
- It is very important to mellow out your glucose levels. High glucose levels slow healing.
- Starting 1 month prior to surgery, I took one multi-vitamin, twice daily, and one vitamin C tab (500mg), once per day. Talk to you physician to find out when you should stop taking your supplements prior to surgery. Some docs say three weeks, some say one week, some advocate taking a multi all the way up until surgery, which is what mine did.
- Do not ingest any kinds of COX2 inhibitors, at least 3-4 weeks prior to surgery. COX2 inhibitors will extend bleed time and slow healing. Foods, such as garlic, onion, ginger, green teas, turmeric, cayenne and some other herbs are natural COX2 inhibitors. No flax oil/seed, vitamin E (okay within your multivitamin 200-400iu), fish oils or omega 3. No aspirin, aspirin compounds, ibuprophen, etc.
- Drink plenty of water to ensure that your body is kept adequately hydrated.
- Exercise helps to prepare you for the surgical marathon. I started climbing 4 flights of stairs 2-3 times per day, about 6-7 months, prior to surgery. However, even one month of exercise would be helpful.
- Take good, deep breaths and slowly exhale to exercise your lungs.
- If you smoke...stop, preferably for good, but at least a minimum of 4 weeks, prior to surgery. 3-4 months or more would be ideal...otherwise, you are jeopardizing the success of the surgery, where the vessels and healing are concerned. The longer the abstinence, the greater potential for success. You will not be able to resume smoking for at least 3-6 weeks post surgery.
- For three days prior to surgery, as well as the morning of surgery, wash your body from neck to thighs with Hibiclens soap. Hibiclens is an antibacterial soap that helps to eliminate staph bacteria from our bodies. Our skin surfaces contain staph bacteria, naturally. The goal is to eliminate as much of the bacteria as is possible, in a effort to reduce the chance of exposure around the surgical area. You can purchase Hibiclens from drug stores, such as Walgreens, for about $10 a bottle.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you have done the best that you can to make your body as healthy as you can get it, prior to surgery. It is a team effort. You do the best you can for yourself, and the docs will do the rest. Wishing you an easy and speedy recovery.
Disclaimer: Information presented within the pages of this website is, for the most part, that of my opinion and for informational purposes only and not to be used in place of the advice of your medical provider. You are strongly encouraged to seek the advice of your medical provider and to conduct your own research on any topic of interest, for fact finding.
