Before your operation...
Your doctor will perform a physical exam and take a history of your previous medical conditions, surgical procedures and medications that you currently take. You will need to give as much information as possible, even relaying over-the-counter medications or herbal supplements that you take, and any allergies that you may have. Based upon this information, your doctor will order any lab work that is needed including blood and urine tests. Usually this can be done several days before your surgery to assure that the results are back before the procedure. The surgeon will discuss risks and benefits of your intended surgical procedure and answer any questions that you or your family members may have in order to obtain an informed consent for the procedure. An anesthesia provider will also discuss your physical status and previous medical history with you in order to plan the most optimal anesthesia for your procedure. They will also discuss risks and benefits of the anesthesia care planned. The Breast Center Care Coordinator will meet with you to discuss your plan of care and give you information regarding support services that are available to you.
On the day of surgery you will be given a time to report to the hospital usually a few hours before your procedure. Check in at Outpatient Registration in Building B. It is important that you do not have any food or drink or tobacco substances from midnight on during the day of surgery. No gum or candy is allowed either. If you routinely take medication to control your blood pressure or diabetes, you may be instructed to take it as you normally would, but this will be outlined in your preoperative instructions. You should wear some comfortable clothes to the hospital and plan to have someone drive you home after your procedure. Please leave your valuables at home or have someone with you to take these things when you are taken into the prep area. Any paperwork from the doctor’s office or lab should be brought to the hospital also.
If you are scheduled to have a biopsy with needle localization, you will be taken to the Breast Center, where the radiologist will insert a small wire into your breast while taking radiographic imaging. The area will be numbed with anesthetic medication prior to the wire being inserted. The wire will be taped to your breast afterward to prevent it from dislodging. This will aid the surgeon in detecting the proper location during the procedure.
If you are scheduled for sentinel node biopsy, you will be given an injection of radioactive tracer while in the Breast Center. The tracer combines with the lymphatic fluids in the breast that travel to the lymph nodes in the axilla and can be detected with a device the surgeon uses to locate the sentinel node. If you are going to have imaging (or pictures taken) after the injection, you will wait for 45 minutes and then have the pictures taken. These will assist the surgeon in identifying the sentinel node. The sentinel node is the first node that picks up the radioactive tracer. Identification of the sentinel node decreases the number of lymph nodes that have to be removed for staging the cancer. Staging is done to help determine an appropriate plan of care and treatment.
Once you are taken into the preoperative care area, you will be asked to change into a patient gown and your personal clothing will be placed in a plastic bag with your identification on it. (If you went to the Breast Center, this would have been done there.) You will not be allowed to wear any jewelry or hair clips or pins and any eyeglasses, contact lenses, or dentures must also be removed. You will be placed on a stretcher and an IV will be started in one arm. Your family members of significant others will be asked to go to the waiting area during this time. Once your IV has been started and your medical information verified you may be given a mild sedative to help ease any anxiety before the procedure. Your family will be kept informed of your condition before, during and after surgery. |
