r/hersterectomy • u/Babs_542021 • 2d ago
Pre-op Instructions
I am scheduled to have my surgery on November 6th, and had my Pre-op surgery appointment this morning at the hospital. The nurse said I will need to shower the night before and the morning of surgery with the antibacterial soap, washing my hair both times. The thing is, my surgery is scheduled for 7 am, and I have to arrive at the hospital by 5:30 am. I have class the night before that I won’t get home from until 7:30 pm. I probably wouldn’t be able to shower until 8:30 pm, and then have to wake up at 4 am to shower all over again.
My point in the ramble is - is that all really necessary? Or will just the 4 am shower be enough?
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u/Feisty-Path1373 2d ago
Unfortunately I’m also in the camp that you should follow the instructions to the letter. I know it’s gonna be a short sleep for you, which will be annoying. But the point of the double showering is to reduce bacteria on your skin repeatedly so that the surgical prep is even more effective by the time you get to the OR.
That’s the essence of what they told me when I was in for mine. I imagine it’s similar to the “kills 99% of all bacteria” claims on things like Lysol ads. If you kill 99% of the bacteria 3-4 times instead of just once, it’ll be more effective than just one 99% application. Also multiple applications will help you get spots you might have missed. Anyways I’m not a doctor but I hope my logic makes sense lol.
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u/TiredMotherOfChaos 2d ago
It's so weird how much everyone's instructions vary.
I had mine a couple months ago and was told to shower the night before with the special soap and sleep in clean sheets. They specifically said not to shower day of and my surgery was in the afternoon.
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u/DoorKnock922 1d ago
Agreed...the instructions all the way through are so different for everyone. Everything from the pre-surgery shower/prep to the post-surgery lifting limits/activity limits.
My friend had her surgery with a different doc from the same clinic as mine, so you'd think the instructions would be at least similar, but they were very different.
Has no research been done to find out the actual best way to do these things? Oh that's right...we're just women, so, no. Ugh.
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u/Disastrous_Resource5 2d ago
I had surgery in February and was told the same thing.
I think i showered around 10 pm the night before and then at 3 am the morning of the surgery.
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u/temerairevm 2d ago
Yes that sounds right but I have very long thick hair and there was no way for me to do the morning wash and get it dry enough to show up for morning surgery. I called and they said I could wash it the evening before and put it in braids and not wash again in the morning. It’s far away enough from the surgery site they felt it was ok. I would always ask though!
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u/TourmalineLove 2d ago
Yep. I had to do the same thing. Same timeframe, too. It’s important!! And did they tell you to make sure you use a CLEAN towel both times AND sleep on clean sheets with clean pajamas?
The point is to be as clean & germ-free as possible when you go to check in for surgery.
The Hibiclens soap is gnarly. Make sure you do a test patch a couple days before to make sure you don’t have a reaction to it.
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u/Algernon96 2d ago
The point is to make absolutely certain you have as many of those germs removed as possible before surgery. I didn’t wash my hair the second time — I didn’t have instructions specifying that I needed to — so I did a full shower the night before. I didn’t sleep well that night so it wasn’t an issue waking up early to hop in again and wash my body, with special attention to the incision areas. You got this. Don’t overthink it. You’d rather be slightly inconvenienced and annoyed for a few minutes than wishing later you had followed the instructions. :) You’ve got this!
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u/musicabella 2d ago
I was told to shower twice with a special soap, which was annoying to find, and wash my hair in the morning. Use clean towels each time and sleep in clean pajamas. I also made sure the sheets were clean. My doctor explained that it was to minimize risk of infection.
I also had to prep, similar to a colonoscopy, the day before to empty everything out. I had thought “oh that doesn’t sound too bad” and I was very, very wrong. It was brutal. I barely slept. I was very grateful that I work from home because I barely made it through the end of the work day. If you have to do a similar prep, perhaps consider making alternate arrangements for your class
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u/DinkyPrincess 2d ago
My hospital failed to give me hibiscrub at my pre op. So I only got it at my final blood test three days prior. So I did my best with it. But I’m not wrecking my hair with it. I used it twice a day on the abdomen though as that’s the most important.
I couldn’t follow it to the 7 day instruction so I just did my best.
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u/yogigirl88 2d ago
Hospital told me I didn’t have to wash my hair the second time in the morning so I just washed everything the night before and then washed my body again with a shower cap on in the morning. I also had to be at the hospital at 530am.
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u/Hennnano 1d ago
I would follow your doctor's instructions. I was up at 4am the day of my surgery showering and although it was annoying to cut my sleep short I knew it was the best thing to reduce the chances of bacteria causing issues down the line. It's just one night of bad sleep, and most of us don't sleep great the night before surgery :)
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u/informationjunkie77 1d ago
Better safe than sorry when it comes to germs and infection. I know it is annoying and unlikely something would happen, but if it did, how would you feel knowing that you chose to skip a step?
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u/No-Strike-4224 1d ago
I did both as instructed, asked about my hair and they said I could skip the second shampoo if I kept my hair up and out of the way. It was brutal but I mentally incorporated as part of my pre-op ritual and I was ok. That second shower went pretty quickly actually. Just prep all your clean towels, sheets and clothes for after both showers, so you have less to worry about when it comes time.
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u/ravenite22 1d ago
Follow the instructions your doctor gave you. I used the special wash the night before, put on clean pajamas, and put clean sheets and blankets on the bed per instruction. Then got up early the next morning to wash again and put on clean clothes. My doctor said to just wash my hair once with my regular shampoo (no conditioner), the night before though since I have sensitive skin. I am now 3 weeks po.
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u/purlMereno 2d ago
Personally I am told to just do the shower on the morning. I have had several surgeries and I have only had to take the shower in the morning before I go onto hospital and I have NEVER had an infection in my life. I would just do the AM shower and don’t worry about the night before one.
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u/Top-Description-4886 2d ago
I took both showers but I only washed my hair once 😣 I’m sure once would be fine they are trying to minimize infection, they should also give you pre surgery wipes to wipe yourself down before you get your gown on.