What to bring to your appointment
- Your referral letter from your GP, if you have one
- A list of all your medicines, including doses
- Your health insurance details and membership number
- Any previous scans, reports or discharge letters
- Reading glasses, and a family member or friend if you would like one
Questions it is always fair to ask
- What exactly did the scan show?
- What happens if I do nothing for now?
- What are my options, and what does each one involve?
- How long is the recovery, and when can I drive and return to work?
- What are the risks, in numbers, for someone like me?
- Who do I call if I am worried afterwards?
Before an operation
You will be given written instructions specific to your procedure. In general: continue your usual medicines unless told otherwise, tell us immediately if you take blood thinners, arrange someone to drive you home, and stop smoking as far in advance as you can — it makes a measurable difference to healing.
After you go home
Walk a little more each day, keep wounds clean and dry, and take pain relief regularly rather than waiting for pain to build. Contact the team straight away if a wound becomes red, hot or leaks fluid, if you develop a fever, or if a leg becomes cold, pale or painful.
