On the Day of Surgery

On the day of your surgery you will arrive at the hospital you have selected. You will have fasted for eight hours prior to your scheduled surgery time. The hospital will contact you the day before surgery to advise you what time to come to the hospital.

You will initially be checked in by reception staff who may ask you to clear any outstanding hospital fees before your surgery. A member of the nursing staff will then do a nursing admission. You will then wait in a waiting area until it is time for your surgery. Your anaesthetist may come and see you in this area or see you in the anaesthetic area.

As the time of your surgery comes closer you will be taken to an anaesthetic area near the operating theatre. There your anaesthetic nurse will complete a final check of your paperwork and procedure. Your surgeon will also meet you here to answer any final questions prior to surgery.

Once you are ready to go ahead with your procedure you will head into the operating room where you will then meet the rest of the surgical team. There will be two nurses who assist Dr Roth – a surgical nurse and a scout nurse. The surgical nurse will generally be already scrubbed and sterile with a mask when you enter the room. Your anaesthetic nurse will make sure you are comfortable and padded well on your bed. They will also apply “leg squeezers” to stop blood clotting.

Once surgery is completed Dr Roth will close your incisions with a variety of stitches. Two 1mm wide splints area left inside the nose.

The typical rhinoplasty dressing and cast includes:

• Non-stick Telfa dressing over the bridge of your nose.
• Steri-strip tape which limits skin swelling
• A mouldable plastic Aquaplast splint is then placed over the nose. This cast acts to protect nasal bones and prevent any unwanted movement.
• A folded gauze placed under your nose to catch any blood that may drip out.

After your dressings have been set the anaesthetist will wake you and you will move to the recovery room. With most nasal surgeries we do book you in for an overnight just as a precautionary manner but many patients are comfortable after a few hours and are happy to discharge home on the same day as surgery.

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