Pre-anesthesia evaluation services at Sharp HealthCare

Prior to your procedure, one of our skilled pre-anesthesia registered nurses will call you with instructions and answer any questions you may have.  

To prepare for this call, please have the following items available: 

• A list of your current medications and doses 

• Pen and paper to take notes 

• Your health history, including allergies and known medical conditions 

Your doctor may request lab work or other pre-operative testing prior to your procedure. Please arrange to complete these tests 14 to 30 days before your scheduled surgery. 

Prepare for your surgery by following our tips. 

• Provide your surgeon and PAES team a contact number where you can be reached the day of surgery as arrival times may change 

• Take only the medicine you have been told to take on the morning of your procedure 

• Do not shave the surgical area for one week before surgery 

• Bathe and brush your teeth before you come in 

• Call your surgeon if you become sick or have cuts or rashes near the surgical site 

• Wear loose-fitting clothes and flat shoes 

• Be on time 

• If you are age 17 or younger, a parent or guardian must come with you to the hospital and stay throughout the procedure 

• If you are scheduled for an outpatient procedure, arrange for someone to take you home afterward 

• Arrange for someone to stay with you for at least 24 hours when you return home 

• If you will be staying overnight, select one adult loved one to stay the night as your care partner 

Download our printable pre-op checklist. 

Most importantly, do not eat or smoke after 11 pm the night before your procedure (unless otherwise instructed by your surgical team). This includes gum, breath mints, chewing tobacco and smoking. You may have noncarbonated clear liquids until 2 hours before your scheduled check-in time. Acceptable liquids include sports drinks (such as Gatorade), water (plain or flavored, but must be non-carbonated). 

Download our eating and drinking instructions. 

If you have diabetes, you may only drink noncarbonated (plain or flavored) water, Crystal Light or coffee/tea without milk or cream. Please test your blood sugar as directed by your doctor and treat hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) with regular (not diet) clear juice or glucose tablets. If your blood sugar has been low (less than 70mg/dl) or high (greater than 180mg/dl) during the 24 hours before surgery, please tell the nurse when you check in for surgery. 

Download our special instructions for patients with diabetes. 

We recommend taking the following steps to improve your recovery. 

• Exercise: Your current condition may limit this, but any exercise is good. 

• Stop smoking: Any type of inhalation (cigarettes, vaping and recreational drugs) can increase mucus, which is linked to risk of breathing problems after surgery. 

• Plan for your discharge before your surgery. Schedule someone to be with you after surgery to help around the house. Prepare easy meals for after surgery. 

• Stop medications or supplements not prescribed by a doctor. Medications like Tylenol PM or Advil PM can cause confused thinking and reduced awareness after surgery. 

• Notify your primary care doctor and/or cardiologist about your upcoming surgery.

• Guide to cardiac surgery

• Guide to cardiac surgery (Spanish)

• Guide to colorectal surgery 

• Guide to colorectal surgery (Arabic) 

• Guide to colorectal surgery (Spanish) 

• Guide to obstetric and gynecologic surgery 

• Guide to obstetric and gynecologic surgery (Arabic) 

• Guide to obstetric and gynecologic surgery (Spanish) 

• Preparing for total joint replacement surgery checklist 

• Total joint replacement presurgery exercises 

• Joint Endeavor Program: preparing for and recovering from your joint replacement surgery 

• Joint Endeavor Program: preparing for and recovering from your joint replacement surgery (Spanish)

• Joint Endeavor Program: preparing for and recovering from your joint replacement surgery (Arabic)

• Spine surgery guide: information for before and after your hospital stay

• Spine surgery guide: information for before and after your hospital stay (Arabic)

• Spine surgery guide: information for before and after your hospital stay (Spanish)

Please bring the following with you to the hospital: 

• Copy of your advance health care directive form 

• List of medications and allergies (include vitamins and dietary supplements, as well as dosages), if not already given to the PAES nurse

• Copy of ID card for your pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator, if applicable 

• Your glasses or contact lens case and solution (contact lenses may be removed before

If possible, pick up any prescriptions before your surgery. If you will be taking prescription pain pills, you may want to consider purchasing an over-the-counter stool softener, such as Colace.

If you are currently breastfeeding, you should refrain from breastfeeding for 24 hours after anesthesia. Some medications are safe to resume breastfeeding within 24 hours. Please review your medications with your nurse before you are discharged to determine if you are safe to resume breastfeeding. 

Tips to care for you safely: 

• English handout 

• Spanish handout 

Do not shave the surgical site for one week before your surgery. 

We recommend you use chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) skin prep, also known as Hibiclens, to help kill any germs on your skin. CHG can be found at most major drugstores. 

The night before and the morning of your surgery, follow these steps to clean your skin with CHG. 

• Clean the body with soap and water 

• Turn off the water and open the bottle of CHG 

• Using half the contents of the bottle, pour CHG onto hands and wash body from the neck down 

• Wash the neck, chest, abdomen and groin (in this order) 

• Wash both shoulders, arms, hands and under the arms 

• Wash both hips, legs and feet 

• Wash your back and buttocks 

• If there are areas that are hard for you to reach, ask someone to assist you 

• Leave CHG on your skin for about 2 minutes 

• Turn on water and rinse 

• Pat dry with a clean towel 

Read our pre-operative bathing instructions or download our Spanish version.  

Follow these tips the night before your surgery to help prevent an infection. 

• Do not use any deodorant, perfumes, powder, cream or lotions 

• Wear clean pajamas 

• Sleep on clean sheets 

Download our surgical site infection prevention instructions.

When it comes to managing pain after your surgery, we encourage you to: 

• Talk to your doctor about the medicines and methods that work for you 

• Be aware that opioids can be addictive and have serious side effects, including nausea, vomiting, itching, dizziness, severe constipation, confusion and breathing problems 

• Let your nurse or doctor know immediately about any medication side effects you experience 

• Ask your care team about alternative ways to manage your pain, such as mindfulness or heat and cold therapy

We'll ask you about your acceptable level of pain, which is the amount of pain you're able to tolerate without affecting your ability to function. We use a specific pain scale to help you manage your pain, which you can download and view below.

• Functional pain scale 

• Functional pain scale (Spanish) 

• Functional pain scale (Arabic)

The following PDFs are available to download:

• Managing your pain brochure 

• What to ask your doctor before taking opioids checklist

Administered intravenously (IV) or by inhalation, general anesthesia involves an assortment of medications that ensure complete amnesia in addition to pain relief and muscle relaxation. 

This type of anesthesia numbs only specific regions of your body, such as the lower extremities, upper extremities or chest, and may be combined with a general anesthetic for pain control. You may also receive nerve block anesthesia alongside a sedative for comfort.

Local anesthesia (such as lidocaine), also known as monitored anesthesia care or MAC, is injected into a specific part of your body by the surgeon. You may also receive a gentle sedative or anesthetic for comfort.

Also known as neuraxial anesthesia, these local anesthetics are administered into the low back in the case of spinal anesthetics, and into the low or mid-back for epidurals. This anesthetic approach results in a controlled decrease in pain and sensation within whole regions of the body and may be used for surgery or as a supplement to a general anesthetic.