What to Expect From Surgery

Before Surgery

Once surgery has been booked you will be given instruction sheets advising you about your pre-operative and post-operative care. Please read these, and if you have questions you are welcome to contact us at any time. Depending on your age, medical conditions, and complexity of surgery you may need to have some lab tests performed. If you have significant medical problems we will arrange an anesthetic consultation. We ask that you bring a list of your medications with you. You also need to make arrangements for someone to be with you 24 hours after the surgery. Our nurse manager will contact you a few days prior to surgery to confirm your arrival time.

Day of Surgery

We realize that any procedure can cause some anxiety, and we will do everything possible to make your experience relaxed. Your surgery will be performed at the Cambie Surgery Centre (www.cambiesurgery.com), one of Vancouver’s premier surgical centres. You will need to arrive one hour prior to your surgery time to go through your pre-operative check. During that time you will be greeted by the pre-operative nurse as well as the anesthetist. Dr. Brown will then see you, go over any last minute questions and make drawings on you as required.
You will then be guided to the operating room, with dimmed lights and light music to provide a relaxing atmosphere. After you drift off asleep you will be monitored second by second with state of the art equipment.

Post-operative

You will awake in the recovery room staffed by experienced nurses who will ease you out of your anesthetic. You can be picked up 1-2 hours after your operation. You must have a responsible adult pick you up and take care of you after your surgery. Prior to leaving you will be given Dr. Brown’s private pager number as well as his home telephone number. That way Dr. Brown can relax knowing you can easily contact him. Arrangements will be made for further post-operative visits at Dr. Brown’s office prior to you leaving the surgery centre.
We realize that in the hectic life our patients live, it is difficult to make time for post-operative visits. As much as possible we recognize this and will accommodate it, but not at the cost of sacrificing quality care. For patients who have concerns post- operatively, our office is always available.