Hospital Admission

Shortly after you have arranged the date of your operation, you will receive the admission forms from the hospital giving you the date and times and all other important information will you need for your admission.

If you are having a major operation (hip or knee prosthesis, or a replacement operation) you will need to be admitted to hospital on the day before the operation so that we have sufficient time to make specific examinations and blood tests as well as to settle administrative matters with you. During the afternoon or evening your operating physician will call in to greet you and explain the planned procedure of the operation in detail. Naturally we will be glad to assist you if you have any further enquiries. Generally speaking, the operation then takes place on the early or late morning of the following day.

In terms of most other kinds of operation (arthroscopy, cruciate ligament operations, shoulder operations, foot surgery) admission to hospital is on the morning of the day of the operation.

On the day of the operation you will not be allowed to eat anything and you may also not be allowed to drink anything so that you have an empty stomach when you have your operation. However, our nursing staff will inform you of this once more as the time of the operation is also determinant.

Before the operation, you will have ample opportunity to discuss with your anaesthetist which kind of anaesthetic you wish to take. He will personally advise you.

Important Notice: It is essential that you notify the anaesthetist if you are highly sensitive (allergic) to a certain antibiotic or any kind of medication.

Over 95% of our patients are now operated on under a regional anaesthetic, i.e. spinal anaesthesia. They are also given a sedative but can follow the operation without feeling any pain. If you so wish, you can also be given headphones to listen to music during the operation which can be from your own tape deck or CD player.

If you would rather not experience the operation in a waking condition, the anaesthetist can give you something to put you to sleep without putting you under full anaesthetic.

Local anaesthetics involve less blood loss and have less impact on the patient’s general condition. The pain-free effect lasts about six hours so for a few hours after your operation is over you will feel no pain. Regional anaesthesia is not suitable for patients whose operations involve the use of blood-thinners (anticoagulants) or who have undergone certain types of surgery on their spines.

Depending on the situation, general anaesthetic is still considered today as an anaesthetic procedure of outstanding merit.

Before the operation you will be given the medicines the anaesthetist has prescribed for you. Once you have taken them you will probably experience a certain drowsiness. To prepare you for the anaesthetic, you will then be wheeled in your bed to the operating theatre and placed on the operating table. No matter if you have a regional or a general anaesthetic, during the operation you will feel no pain.