I had surgery a couple days ago, and as a whump writer, I, of course, had to take notes.
So, here’s a bullet list of my experience, for writing purposes or otherwise. I, for one, love putting my characters in hospitals. Also good notes for anxiety about upcoming surgeries, I guess.
Happy writing, my fellow angst-enthusiasts!
Pre-Op:
No eating for 8 hours before the surgery, no drinking for 2-3.
They make you sanitize yourself with chlorhexidine wipes, and they give you a very bad-tasting mouthwash. I had to swab my nose, too, with antiseptic. They make you take everything off and change into a gown. No piercings, either. The chlorhexidine kinda makes your skin yellow. It’s kinda sticky, too.
A bunch of questions when you get back to pre-op, like what meds you’re on, confirming what surgery you’re having and why, what you ate and when you ate it. (Same for drinking.) This gets repeated a lot between different nurses and the anesthesiologist.
They start an IV line early, pretty much as soon as you’re in the bed, mine was attached to fluids which dripped while I was waiting to be wheeled back.
They give a relaxative through IV right before wheeling you back to the operating room. Sometimes they’ll give nausea medicines, too.
Equipment:
5 ECG leads on chest and abdomen.
Heart moniter on index finger.
Blood pressure cuff, usually on the arm opposite of the IV. It’s sometimes set on a timer, other times they’ll activate it manually.
They put a nasal cannula with oxygen in your nose, it’s kind of annoying and the air coming through it is dry and cool. In most cases, they’ll intubate you while under, and you’ll wake up with a sore throat. Other times, a mask is used. I’ve had all three (I think)
In the OR:
They wheel you back on your bed.
They move you (or in most cases, you move yourself) from the bed to the operating table. After the operation is done, they move you back onto the bed because you’ll still be unconscious.
There are huge lights above the operating table, and they look threatening, but by the time you’re back there, you’ll be so out-of-it you probably won’t care.
Most anesthesiologists will ask you to count down from 100 or 10. You’re usually out after 3 counts.
Recovery:
You wake up in the recovery wing, I woke up twice before actually waking up for good. Nurse will attend to you once you’re conscious.
Most patients wake up shortly after anesthesia is stopped.
For all my surgeries, I woke up confused and unsure if the surgery already happened or not. It’s like time traveling. You won’t really know where you are, the first thing I registered was the nasal cannula and the blankets stacked on top of me.
Really groggy when waking up.
Limbs feel really heavy and awkward to move, I stumbled around a lot.
Some dizziness and general uncoordination.
They ask you what you want to drink, I chose Sprite, but they offered juice and water.
They had to wheelchair me out, which I assume is true for most outpatient procedures.
Most modern anesthesia effects wear off in about an hour (but it really depends on your metabolism)
You’ll probably want to sleep the rest of the day, and depending on what pain meds you’re on, you’ll be high whilst taking them.
Someone has to be with you for the first 24 to 48 hours.
Depending on where the procedure was, the skin there will be yellow/orange where they applied iodine. Showering unattended is probably not a good idea for the first day.
Nausea is a common side effect of anesthesia.
Some other notes for anesthesia: it’s like, really weird. They basically paralyze your entire body, and you don’t dream while under. While some people describe general anesthesia effects as a sort-of high, I don’t really think it equates. I was just really confused, I remember having to undress in front of a nurse and I didn’t really care because my brain wasn’t quite working. Honestly, I don’t remember much from the rest of that day. Your passage of time is kinda fucked, the drive home always feels like a blink. I guess it feels more like being drunk, at least for the type I was on. If I was on pain meds, I’m sure it would’ve been different.
Another note: emergency or urgent operations obviously differ, especially if the patient is unconscious. Assessment is a lot quicker, and stabilization is needed before surgery. Diagnostics are needed right after assessment, rather than scheduled pre-surgery for elective operations. Stabilization may occur immediately after assessment, and sterilization is done in the OR. If a patient is incoherent, family is contacted for consent and info. You’ll either go to the PACU or ICU depending on your condition. (Source: I write angst. A lot of angst. Also, I’ve actually had an urgent surgery. It’s a long story. I don’t go near playgrounds anymore.)