My 3 day before surgery plan

Cecropia

graduate
Joined
Apr 17, 2019
Messages
672
Age
71
Country
United States United States
Gender
Female
My instructions say clean towel, pjs, underwear, after evening cleanse every night 3 days prior. Wash sheets and pillow cases night before only. Freshly washed day clothes ea morning.
So I'm going to wash a set of 3 pair of bras, underwear, pjs, clothes, towels and dry in dryer then put each set in large plastic sterile food bag, well hopefully sterile, but better than sitting in the closet.
And the outfit I wear to the hospital will be washed, husband's sweatpants and his boxer shorts. My undies are too tight will hurt the incision and the nurse suggested that for after surgery. Great idea, I dont have to go buy more clothes. Hope this gives someone else help in planning. It's all really nerving me up....can't seem to wrap my head around it today....sigh.....
Anyone want to add helpful suggestions, please do...
 
@Cecropia I think a lot of us ditched the bra idea for both the surgery and recovery, at least for awhile anyway! Comfy leggings or sweats, loose t-shirt.......some liked a loose "house dress" because it's easy to throw over your head instead of trying to get pants on. You'll find what works best for you. I've never heard that our clothes have to be "sterile" but yes, clean is best! Really your first days home, you won't be thinking or worrying about your clothes, just resting with ice and elevating a lot! :roseshwr:
 
Ah, when the nerves start. @Cecropia. I have to smile looking back at that time. Going to work, cleaning surfaces, washing sheets, clothes, and myself to get rid of bacteria, kept me busy to assuage some of the nerves. I used Lysol laundry sanitizer and Pledge antibacterial multi surface. Very happy with those products. I also got the sanitizing wipes for quick surface cleanup post surgery when you don’t have the energy.
The clothes, I only had mine on about 2 and a half hours until I got to preop. I should’ve just kept jammies on. :heehee: It was a little cooler for my surgery but the best thing I brought were my loose flannel pj shorts. I wore them under the hospital gown. It made it easy with the sequentials and repositioning and everyone could easily check my incision. It also gave me a decent barrier for the ice pack. Plus, no worries about a “draft aft” when getting up. :rotfl:
 
I am a big fan of what I call the “no bra” bra. It satisfies my desire for modesty, and provides just enough support/coverage so that no one can say with certainty whether I have “pointers” or “setters”. It’s comfortable enough to sleep in, and has no hooks, no wires, no hardware at all, in fact. It goes on over your head. Some manufacturers call them “sleeping bras”. Amazon will give you options - Hanes, Jockey, Maidenform, and others make them.
 
@Ptarmigan I am reading the replies as they come in and after hip4life mentioned shorts like flannel pjs, I found a couple similar pair of them, I'd forgotten I had. They would be much more feminine than my husband's boxer shorts for the hospital stay after. And thanks for the bra idea, not sure if I will buy one for me, but my mom who insists on living alone and dress herself has been having a horrible time hooking her bra, shes 97. That would be great for her... I'm all ears for any suggestions too and a note taker....
 
I never had any instructions for clean clothes or clean sheets pre op. The only thing I was told was to have a bath/shower the morning of the op before I arrived.
My 'nightdress' for the hospital was a silky kaftan which worked wonderfully. No need for any underwear and the silky material helped me to slide in and out of bed more easily. Something you might want to consider. The kaftan was also modest enough to do my physio walks down the hall.
In fact, for my first op, we were having a heatwave in the UK and I ended up going home in the kaftan too.
 
I think surgeons all have different preop instructions.. Mine are to shower the night before and use Hibiclens( a disinfectant). sleep and have another shower with Hibiclens in the morning.. Thank goodness my date is at 9:30 am.. and not 5:30 am

The caftan idea is wonderful!
 
@Cecropia I too am a info hog. I have to do 2 Hibiclens 1 in the evening,wash hair as well, 1 in the am (day of surgery). Told to have fresh sheets on bed, all fresh clothes pj's and am when going to hospital. I have these huge shorts underwear which I will wear under gown--both sides for me will be affected. I may opt for a huge shift dress which I can put over my head when at the hospital to make it easier as I am envisioning difficulty getting into pants . That kaftan sounds great. I was looking for this.I think I will do what you are doing and wash stuff and put in zip-lock bags. I have my sheets in a plastic bag and I used bleach.
 
I had to do the shower, clean towel, sheets, nightgown the night before and another shower, clean towel, clean clothes morning of surgery. Also at prep for surgery I had to swab my nose with a blue liquid and they put a laser light plugs in my nose for a few minutes to kill any bacteria. All precautions to minimize infection! I have to use 2 grabbers to put on my underwear and pants, so caftan/long dress would be ideal!
 
Just a few days before my surgery I went for a pedicure. It was great. I had had such a hard time cutting my toenails prior to surgery and this worked so well. Because of the upcoming surgery I had to tell them no Polish but it was a relaxing thing to do. It might be even better if you had a friend to come along and chat with. They cut your nails fairly short so it lasted for quite a while.
 
@GrannyC I thought about a pedicure, but I used a file on them yesterday. That will be a good idea sometime after surgery tho. I'm not much of a cutter, I like to file my toenails and fingernails. Weird huh....lol

Very interesting to read the difference in what each of us was told to do prior surgery.....
 
I am thinking of the pedicure but never had one and feel awkward about it. But must cut nails and to boot must bring in my cat to have her nails cut too.She never lets me do it and the carpel tunnel makes it difficult.I guess I must remember no polish--forgot that not that I would have colour.
 
@mikeycat I had never had one before either but felt comfortable having it done. I went to a salon that was fairly busy so maybe it was because I was not the only one there. Actually ended up chatting a bit with the woman sitting in the next chair. It was all very relaxing which is why I mentioned it.
 
@Cecropia it is really funny the different things we're told depending on where we're at, who we talk to. I was discussing that with my OS today and he kind of laughed and said yeah, you'll see that during your journey, PT says this, nurse says that, I say this. I think I'll pretty much listen to him and go from there.
 
@Cecropia
I gave myself a pedicure a day or two before surgery. It had become increasingly difficult but I was able to do it right up until the end. I also polished my toenails, used a nude color only because it wears better and I was unsure of when I'd be able to do it again. Fortunately I was able to clip toenails and polish one month post op. Again difficult, but I was determined. It was never mentioned prior to surgery not to polish toenails. And no one asked me to remove it at the surgery site, nor removed it for me.

It's my understanding you're not to wear fingernail polish or acrylic nails because they place the pulse meter to measure the oxygen levels in your blood and it may not work as well on polished nails. They can also judge oxygen levels by the color of your nail beds. An undesirable bluish tint could be hidden by nail polish.

Four more days until your big day. Bye-bye hip pain. I hope you have a nice weekend!
 
@Layla You enjoy your weekend....thanks.... I'll be a bit more relaxed. Will start the cleansing thing Sat night. I'll be laying low...lol.
 
We are in on the same day
I’ve been told just to wash but I decided myself to wash with the Hebiclens night before and the morning. Plus clean sheets and towels. They said not to worry about more than a shower in the morning but I’d prefer to err on the side of caution
 
@Yogigirl It's very interesting, the different way to prepare. I started last night with the hebiclens, then clean towel, clean pjs, clean sheets. This am clean clothes. Tonight I do it again but not washing sheets till tomorrow as told. Then same Monday night, but wash hair also. Then am Tuesday I have special 6 wipes in sterile package to use on specific areas, tossing ea as I finish each area. Air dry, do not rinse. Clean clothes again. It's okay, I want to be sterile, but it kind of scares me. I shaved my legs today. No deodorant, body lotion, perfume, starting last night. No nail polish, face cream, etc. I did read that hebiclens lasts for 24 hours killing MRSA, staff, and other bacteria. Then the directions on my wipes say may have reaction side effects. What???
And the hebiclens can blind you, cause loss of hearing if it gets in your eardrums or eyes, as the precautions. Dont get it near your face. Read all the directions. Scary stuff. Yikes!
I'm still holding on. How are you doing? About 36 hours we'll be hummmm, you know where....:scaredycat:
 

BoneSmart #1 Best Blog

Staff online

  • Jaycey
    ADMINISTRATOR Staff member since February 2011

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
65,167
Messages
1,596,864
BoneSmarties
39,356
Latest member
JanieMarie
Recent bookmarks
0
Back
Top Bottom