Prepare for your operation

It is crucial for your safety that you follow fasting advice.

Adults and teenagers can have limited solid food intake (light meal) until six hours before arriving at hospital to ensure your stomach is empty. After ceasing food, you may have small amounts of water until two hours before your scheduled arrival time to hospital.

Fasting for surgery for a child or infant should be as follows: 6 hours for cow’s milk, 4 hours for breast milk and 2 hours for clear fluids.

You will receive specific fasting instructions from your child’s surgeon or hospital.

Please bring all current medications to hospital. Please continue any regular medications up to and including the day of surgery unless advised otherwise. These can be taken with a small amount of water.

Your anaesthetist may advise you to stop certain medications on the day of surgery. You should also cease any drugs that your surgeon has asked you to stop (e.g. blood thinners or diabetic medications).

If you have any concerns or questions about what you should do regarding your medications, please contact the rooms ((03) 9419 6255) before your surgery.

If you take insulin please contact the rooms before the day of admission to discuss an insulin plan for your day of surgery

Australia is one of the safest places in the world to have an anaesthetic.

Our anaesthetists are highly trained specialist doctors having spent 13 years in training to ensure the safety of their patients and minimise the risk of experiencing complications during surgery.

Minor complications may include nausea and vomiting; drowsiness; feeling faint; headache; sore throat or pain & bruising at the site of an injection.

Major complications which are very rare include dental damage; drug reactions (usually allergy); heart attack and stroke; lung infections; nerve injury; recall during surgery or death.