Surgery department: an operation or examination with admission

For your own safety, you must have an empty stomach on the day of your operation. This means you should not eat or drink for a number of hours before surgery.
You can read more about ensuring that you have an empty stomach in the leaflet ‘Informatie over anesthesie (info.mumc.nl/pub-986)’ (in Dutch).

If you have eaten, your operation cannot take place!

In the inpatient ward, you will be given a blue surgical gown. Do not wear lenses, jewellery, piercings, make-up, hair clips or elastic hair ties with metal crimps. Do not use nail polish. We want to be able to see your nails to check how you are.

At various times, we will ask you your name, date of birth, the type of treatment you will have and on which side of your body. These questions are for your safety and to check that we have the correct medical information about you.

The following people work in the operating theatre:

• the nurse anaesthetist
• the anaesthetist
• the operating theatre assistant
• the surgeon
• the assistant physician

Because MUMC+ is a university hospital, there are sometimes doctors in training present.

The anaesthetist will prepare you for the anaesthetic. You will receive a drip and be connected to the patient monitor. The surgeon will then check your details (checklist). 
When you are asleep or the local anaesthetic has fully taken effect, the surgeon will start the operation or examination.

Surgeon
The surgeon is the medical specialist who will operate on you.
The surgeon spoke with you beforehand in the outpatient clinic or Accident and Emergency (A&E) department. In that conversation, he or she explained the operation to you.
The surgeon also provides post-operative care. He or she will make ward rounds or see you in the outpatient clinic.

Anaesthetist
The anaesthetist is the medical specialist who ensures that the operation is carried out safely and without pain. 
Before the procedure, he or she will examine your condition and give you information about the risks of anaesthesia. This is called pre-operative screening. 
During the operation, the anaesthetist administers drugs such as sedatives and painkillers. 
After the operation, he or she will also check you in the recovery room.

Assistant physician
Assistant physicians do consultations in the outpatient clinic and make daily rounds of the inpatient ward. They usually do so together with a medical specialist. On the inpatient ward, the assistant physician is responsible for day-to-day care. You can also put your medical questions to the assistant physician. During operations, the assistant physician helps or operates together with the medical specialist.

Nurse anaesthetist
The nurse anaesthetist assists the anaesthetist to administer the general or local anaesthetic.
The nurse anaesthetist also monitors and supports you before, during and after the operation.

Operating theatre assistant
The operating theatre assistant prepares for the operation, for example by setting out the surgical instruments needed. The assistant also helps by handing the surgeon instruments or stitching wounds.

You will stay in the recovery room until you are fully awake.
You will be on the patient monitor and the nurse will continually check your breathing, heart rate and blood pressure.
You can ask the nurse any questions you have.
The nurse will give you extra painkillers or something against nausea if needed.
The nurse will take the best possible care of you, so that you are comfortable when you return to the inpatient ward.

The length of time spent in the recovery room varies from person to person. It depends on the type of operation and your personal situation.
Very occasionally, a patient will stay overnight in the recovery room. 
The anaesthetist will decide when you can return to the inpatient ward. The ward nurse will then come to the recovery room and take you to the ward. 
Before you leave, the recovery room nurse will hand over all your information to the ward nurse (checklist).