Patient information
How to prepare for surgery
Establishing a diagnosis
If you, your GP or a specialist doctor suspects that you have a condition that can be treated surgically, the first step is to establish the exact diagnosis and therapeutic indication. For this you will need an appointment for a consultation.
At the consultation, you will present yourself with all your previous medical documents and the results of the investigations carried out so far. If we consider that further investigations or tests are necessary, we will indicate them and guide you to have them carried out as soon as possible.
Once the diagnosis is established with certainty, you will be informed about your disease, its natural course and the therapeutic options currently available.
The next step will be to schedule surgery. You will be informed of the date, time, place of admission and the documents required for admission.
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
How do you prepare before admission?
It is important that on the day of hospitalization (whether you are scheduled for surgery on the same day or not) you present yourself fasting (not eating, not drinking), as blood samples will be taken, which may be influenced by food and fluid intake.
Depending on whether you choose to have surgery in a state or private medical system, you will need certain documents.
If you choose the state medical system, as you are insured, you will present the following documents at your admission:
Depending on the case, we will inform you in advance if additional paperwork is required.
If admission on request (without a referral note or uninsured), you will pay the cost of medical services, based on the expense statement issued by the hospital secretariat/finance department.
According to the health insurance law, all patients residing in Romania benefit from free emergency medical assistance.
So, whether you are insured or not, if your illness is an immediate emergency, you will not have to pay for medical services.
If admission to a private clinic is desired, we will guide you through the steps to be followed on a case-by-case basis.
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
How do you prepare before surgery?
In the case of surgery, pre-operative preparation is essential to achieve a good outcome and help your healing process.
All recommendations to you will come from your surgeon, and these measures will depend entirely on the type of diagnosis that has been established beforehand. Recommendations include:
Also, after providing complete and correct information about your current and previous health (you will present all previous medical documents) you will be given information about the proposed surgery, together with the risks involved.
If you agree to the surgery, you will sign an informed agreement, a consent form.
Of course, before the operation you will also have a pre-anesthetic consultation where, depending on your diagnosis, the anesthesiologist will decide on the type of anesthesia you will have (general, regional/rachial, local).
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
What happens on the day of surgery?
On the day of surgery a shower is mandatory. Please do not use skin creams or lotions. You will shave off your abdominal hair. If you are unable to do this yourself, you will ask a nurse for help. You will receive special clothing to wear during the procedure.
Dentures (such as false teeth), instruments (such as glasses or contact lenses), jewellery, make-up and nail varnish should be removed before going into the operating theatre. If you have a hearing aid, you can keep it.
The nurse will escort you to the OR preparation room. There you will be welcomed by an operating room employee.
Before the operation, you will receive an infusion of anaesthetic. It is also possible that depending on your diagnosis and proposed surgery, a thin tube (epidural catheter) may be fitted to your back. Through this tube you will be given analgesics (painkillers) during and after the procedure.
Depending on your diagnosis, your surgeon will decide on the type of surgical approach:
– classic approach – with incision/cut (depending on the case, this can be in the middle of the abdomen or under the ribs, etc.)
– minimally invasive (laparoscopic) approach through several small incisions, through which the instruments are inserted.
All the aspects related to the most suitable surgical approach for your case and related to the surgery itself (all that it entails) will be explained to you in advance when you will have the discussion with your surgeon at the time of the consultation.
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Recovery after surgery
After the operation, depending on the decision of the surgeon and the anaesthetist, you will remain under supervision, either on the surgical ward or in the intensive care unit, where the ATI doctor and the attending surgeon will be responsible for the medical treatment. Also, if you are supervised on the intensive care unit, the ICU doctors will decide when you will return to the surgical ward.
On the surgical ward, the attending surgeon or his/her designee will visit you every day to discuss with you how your recovery is progressing. During these visits new decisions and changes in treatment can be made.
The nurse will help you immediately after the operation in caring for your general physical condition. She/he will encourage you to do increasingly independent activities. In addition, you will receive instructions for special care, if necessary.
Please note that after surgery, depending on the diagnosis, you may have several tubes temporarily connected:
They may be located in a vein in the arm and under the collarbone or in the neck area. As soon as you are able to drink enough fluids and no longer need IV medication, they will be removed.
To administer supplemental oxygen if needed.
This is a thin, back-mounted tube through which pain medication is administered. The dose of medication depends on the pain you feel and your recovery. As soon as these painkillers are no longer administered, the catheter will be removed.
Depending on the case, it may be held in place for a day or more. If you have had bladder surgery, then the urinary catheter may be used for a longer period; it will also be maintained if it is felt that diuretic monitoring is necessary.
They are gradually removed depending on the amount and appearance of the fluid after a postoperative ultrasound check.
It is the tube that reaches into the stomach to drain gastric juice.
This being a tube fixed through the small intestine, used for tube feeding if needed.
Depending on the case, a bag ostomy.
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Discharge recommendations and how to follow up postoperatively?
– Removal of the tegumentary sutures will be done 7-10 days postoperatively or 12-14 days, depending on your case
– Hygiene and dietary regime, depending on the case
– Avoiding strenuous physical exertion and, depending on the case, if the operation was performed using the classical approach, wearing a non-elastic abdominal support girdle for at least 3-6 months.
– Continuation of treatment for the associated pathology with possible reassessment by the family or specialist doctor
– For patients with malignant pathology/cancer, to have an oncological consultation, presenting the discharge note and the result of the histopathological examination to the oncologist
– For patients with malignant pathology, check-ups are carried out as agreed with the treating surgeon, every 3-6-12 months (or as needed, depending on the case), with subsequent management to be determined by the treating physician.
Payment methods
We understand the importance of having access to the highest quality healthcare, which is why we offer various payment options, including the possibility to choose to pay in installments, to make it easier to manage the costs associated with treatment.
For our medical services, you can choose from the following payment options:
1. Silver cash
Pay cash at the hospital reception (only for amounts less than 10.000 lei).
2. Payment by bank card
You can pay by credit card directly at reception.
3. Payment in installments
You can choose to pay in up to 24 monthly installments, interest-free, using installment cards issued by CEC Bank. More details here:
https://www.cec.ro/persoane-fizice/carduri-credit
4. Credit for patients
For more flexible cost management, you can access Banca Transilvania’s Patient Credit. This option allows you to finance medical services in a convenient way tailored to your individual needs.
For more details:
https://www.bancatransilvania.ro/credite/credite-de-nevoi/creditul-pacient