Megan Valverde, Nurse Practitioner
Hi, and welcome to the Weiner Center for pre-op evaluation at Brigham and Women's Hospital. This is one of the first steps in your surgical journey.
You'll come to the Weiner Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital before your surgery to have a pre-op examination to make sure that you're ready for surgery. And you'll meet with a nurse practitioner at that time, go over your medical history, any medications that you're taking. You may have labs drawn, an EKG done of your heart. And we'll determine if you're ready for your surgery.
There are some things that you can do as a patient to help prepare yourself for your pre-op appointment. We'd like you to bring a list of all your daily medications with their dosages. If you take any over-the-counter medications or any vitamins, please include those on your medication list.
You can also bring any pertinent imaging or testing from outside facilities that would help us proceed with your visit. It's also helpful to bring your physician's contact information. For example, your primary care physician or if you have a cardiologist.
You can expect your appointment at the Weiner Center for pre-op evaluation to be about 75 minutes long. At your appointment, you'll meet with a nurse practitioner. Please note, you will not be meeting with an anesthesiologist at your pre-op appointment.
If you're having cardiac surgery or vascular surgery, you're pre-op appointment will be in the walk-ins clinic in the Shapiro building at Brigham and Women's Hospital. There you'll meet with a nurse practitioner from the Weiner Center, and you can expect your pre-op appointment to last about 90 minutes.
At your pre-op appointment, the nurse practitioner will discuss with you what to do before your surgery. For all surgeries, after midnight you are not allowed to eat anything. Some surgeries allow you to drink clear liquids up until four hours before your surgery. Some surgeries do not allow anything to drink after midnight. Your nurse practitioner will go over instructions specifically for your surgery at your pre-op appointment.
Your nurse practitioner will go over your daily medication list with you your pre-op appointment. The nurse practitioner will let you know which medications you should take the day of your surgery. If you are instructed to take medication the day of your surgery, you are able to take that medication with sips of water.
Some surgeries require special preparation. For example, a bowel prep. If the indicated, your surgeon will let you know if you have any special preparations to take before your surgery. Always follow the special instructions provided to buy your surgeon's office.
Some surgeries require you to shower with a special soap beforehand. Your nurse practitioner will let you know if you need to use a special soap called Hibiclens before your surgery. At your pre-op appointment, if you're instructed to use Hibiclens, you'll be given a bottle with instructions on how to use it.
If there's any further testing that you need before your surgery, the nurse practitioner will coordinate with your surgical care team in order to complete those tests before your surgery date. At the end of your visit, the nurse practitioner will consult and coordinate with the anesthesiologist on staff to make sure that you're ready for surgery and that there's no outstanding issues.
At your pre-op appointment, you'll be given a phone number to call one business day before the date of your surgery. You'll call this number and confirm the time of your surgery.
After your appointment at the Weiner Center for preoperative evaluation at Brigham and Women's Hospital, if you or one of your family members still has questions, feel free to call us at the Weiner Center.
The Weiner Center telephone number is 617-732-7484.
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