Day Surgery Leaflet

Welcome To The Day Surgery Unit

This information is to explain the procedure you are about to undergo and give you some helpful advice that you may need whilst you are with us or when you go home.

Before The Operation

On arrival all relevant details about your general health will be checked. We must be sure that:

  1. You have not had anything to eat or drink in the last six hours.
  2. You have someone available to take you home.
  3. You are fit for a general anaesthetic.

A doctor will come round and examine you and take your medical history and a nurse will come and take your pulse and blood pressure.

Before your operation you will be given your first dose of antibiotics to reduce the chances of infection. At this time you will also be given a long acting painkiller so that when you wake up you will be more comfortable.

After The Operation

Once you have returned from theatre, your progress is carefully monitored by the nursing staff. You will find that you have some gauze packs in your mouth. This is to stop any oozing that you may have from the sockets and they will be removed as soon as possible.

When you feel well enough you will be encouraged to sit up and have a drink. You will only be discharged from the department when you are well enough and must have a responsible adult with you to accompany you home. If no-one is available, you will be admitted overnight.

Following Oral Surgery

It is very common to have some swelling and you may find that you cannot open your mouth very wide and have some bruising on your face. This is quite normal and you should not be alarmed by it. The degree of swelling is very variable and can last up to a few days. There may be a tingling/numbness of the lower lip or tongue. This is due to bruising of a nerve in the surgical area. In the majority of cases the sensation will return to normal in a few weeks or months.

Following a general anaesthetic you may experience any of the following:

Sore throat

Bleeding

Muscular aches

Nausea and headaches

These symptoms usually occur on the day that you have had the anaesthetic but can persist for 2-3 days.

How Can You Help Yourself?

On the day of surgery do not rinse out your mouth. A blood clot is forming over the socket and is very delicate. If it is disturbed you may start to bleed.

DO NOT drink any alcohol.

DO NOT smoke (this delays healing).

DO NOT do any hard physical work, operate complex machinery or drive. A general anaesthetic may adversely affect your performance for at least 24 hours.

For the week following surgery:

  • Keep your mouth as clean as possible. Do not be afraid of using a toothbrush carefully.
  • Use hot salt water washes to promote healing.

Dissolve one teaspoon of normal salt in half a pint of hot water. Take a mouthful and hold it over the affected site. When it has cooled, spit it out and repeat until all the salt water is used up. Repeat this every two to three hours whilst the discomfort persists.

  • Eat a soft diet and make sure that you take plenty of fluids.
  • If you are in pain, take some of the painkillers prescribed for you, but make sure that you obey the instructions on the bottle.
  • If you start to bleed, bite on a clean handkerchief placed over the socket for twenty minutes.
  • Make sure that you finish any course of antibiotics if they are prescribed or you.
  • If you have been prescribed Metronidazole, do not drink any alcohol as this may cause nausea or vomiting.
  • You may have been given an appointment for the next week, we usually use resorbable sutures so we will probably not have to remove any stitches at this appointment.

If you are worried e.g. by worsening pain, swelling or persistent bleeding, please contact us by telephone. In the daytime call us on:

Office hours: 023 92

Out of normal hours, telephone the hospital and ask to speak to the on-call Maxillofacial Surgeon.

Out of hours: 023 9228 6000