The Journey Begins

Well the journey begins! After doing knee and shoulder surgery on others for 30 years, the time has come for me to start having my worn out parts replaced. I have known for two years that my left hip is very arthritic due to it being congenitally deformed. I am sure that walking five or so miles in the office each day and standing on it during 8 to 10 hour surgery days hasn't helped the cause!

This Wednesday is my preop appointment at the Hoag Orthopedic Institute in Irvine. I will fill out all the necessary preop paperwork (most of which I have done at home) concerning health history, meds I take, advance directive (a must to do for people undergoing elective surgery!) and have my lab work drawn.

Aside from the usual blood and urine tests and EKG, we routinely screen for MRSA (Methcillin Resistant Staph Aureus) as many patients in the community harbor this bacteria without knowing it and it can complicate surgery by causing wound infection if it is not treated. Can talk more about what that means after my test is done.

Next week is my preop exam from my internist. Will touch base between now and then to share my experience at the PAS (Preadmission Screening Unit).