Preparing for Your Surgery: Pre-admission Visit

What to Expect During Your Pre-admission Visit

To prepare for surgery, you will visit Roswell Park beforehand. Your visit may include the following:

• Blood tests
• Chest X-ray
• Electrocardiogram (EKG)
• Physical exam by a Melanoma Center resident, Nurse Practitioner, or Fellow
• Anesthesiologist assessment

What to Tell Your Health Care Team

Be sure to tell your doctor, anesthesiologist, and nurse:

• any allergies you have particularly to seafood or iodine (the skin cleanser used prior to the surgery contains iodine)
• any problems you have had with anesthesia in the past
• if you have a pacemaker. Bring the card in from your pacemaker manufacturer with the model #.
• if you have a history of falls, problems with mobility, and/or difficulties in hearing or learning

Medications

Do not take any aspirin, aspirin products, ibuprofen (Advilâ) or any medicine to "thin the blood", such as Coumadin or heparin, for one week before surgery. Tell you doctor about all of the medications you routinely take at home, including:

• insulin
• heart and hypertension medicine
• non-prescription medications 
• herbal or vitamin supplements