Prepare for your surgery
What you do before surgery can make a big difference to how well you recover and your outcome. Being fit and healthy will help you get better faster and avoid complications allowing you to get back to doing the things you enjoy sooner.
Fitter Better Sooner
Visit the Royal College of Anaesthetists’ website to learn how to get ready for surgery. You’ll find tips on fitness, losing weight, and lowering your blood pressure.
Let’s Move for Surgery
Versus Arthritis has made special exercise routines for different surgeries. They also have a helpful Surgery Toolkit booklet with advice from doctors and patients.
My Planned Care
For helpful information on things like waiting times visit the My Planned Care website.
Knowing what matters to you helps our doctors, nurses and other
healthcare professionals (HCPs) work out the best treatment options for you.
The OK to Ask campaign helps you think about your choices and ask questions, such as:
- What are all my options?
- What are the benefits and risks of each option?
- How will each option affect what is important to me?
- Are there any alternatives?
- What happens if I decide to do nothing?
For more information and to download the OK to Ask patient information sheet visit the NHS Inform website.
Also have a look at the decision support tools in the section below.
These NHS England information booklets can help inform you about your treatment options for some common health conditions like knee and hip arthritis.
There are some similar support tool from versus arthritis covering other conditions, like back and shoulder pain, developed by the Versus Arthritis group.
For more information and tools on how to take control of your health and care journey and to get the most out of your hospital appointment, visit the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB website.
Do you have health conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, epilepsy or asthma? If so, speak to your GP to help get these under control before any planned operation.
Looking after your general health
You might also want to improve your health, get fitter or lose weight and we can help you with this.
We have partnered with Your Health Notts to provide a personalised programme called MSK Your Way which can help prepare you for your surgery.
What happens next?
If you are considering surgery, you may be contacted by Your Health Notts to arrange a personalised programme.
You will receive a one-to-one health consultation. Our friendly, highly qualified professionals will help agree a healthy lifestyle plan with you. Sessions can be delivered face-to-face, virtually or over the phone.
Below are some videos from Versus arthritis to help you get fit in preparation for some common types of operations (YouTube - external links):
Frailty means it takes longer to recover from illness or injury. It is more common as people age, but younger people can also have frailty.
Signs of frailty
- Feeling slower or weaker
- Losing muscle strength
- Feeling tired easily
- Losing weight without trying
- Needing more help with daily tasks (like dressing)
- Taking a long time to heal after an injury.
Doctors may use a frailty score before surgery to understand your health.
Why does frailty matter?
People with frailty may:
- Have more complications after surgery.
- Take longer to return to normal activities.
- Need extra support after leaving the hospital.
- Stay in the hospital longer or move to a care home.
Talking with your healthcare team about the risks of surgery can help you decide what’s best for you. Some people with frailty may choose not to have surgery.
How can I stay healthy?
- Stay active
- Eat a balanced diet
- Keep a healthy weight
- Quit smoking
- Drink less alcohol.
How can my doctor help?
Your care team, often led by a GP or a doctor for older people (Geriatrician), will give advice, support, and treatment to help you manage frailty. Always ask questions if you’re unsure.
It is normal to feel anxious before an operation. You might worry about how the surgery will go and how you will cope afterwards.
To help you prepare, you might want to make a list of questions to ask at your appointment, such as:
- How long will I be in hospital?
- What should I bring?
- What will I be able to do and when?
- What can I do to feel mentally prepared?
Knowing what to expect can help you feel more in control of the process.
Talk to your family and friends about how they could help you. You might want to try practicing relaxation and breathing exercises before and after your surgery. If you can, try to get plenty of sleep. It’s important for your mental and physical health.
