On the day of bile duct cancer surgery

You normally go into hospital on the morning of your operation. Sometimes you may go in the night before. This depends on the hospital.

The ward staff make sure you are ready and prepared for theatre. You will also see your surgeon and your anaesthetist.

Before you leave home

You might want to have a shower before you come to the hospital as you might feel too tired for few days after your operation. If you’ve been given special antibacterial soap or wipes to use follow the instructions you have been given. This is to lower the chance of you getting an infection.

Most people are given carbohydrate drinks to have before their operation. Follow the instructions from pre assessment on when to drink them.

When you get to the hospital

Your ward nurse will go through a series of questions on a checklist to make sure you are ready for surgery. They ask you to:

• tell them when you last had something to eat and drink

• change into a hospital gown

• put on a pair of surgical stockings

• take off any jewellery (except for a wedding ring)

• take off any make up, including nail varnish

• remove contact lenses if you have them in

• wear a hospital identification band

If you have false teeth you can usually keep them in until you get to the anaesthetic room.

Preparing the area

Your nurse may remove any hair on your tummy (abdomen), chest and side. This is where your wounds will be. They do this with electric clippers. They may do this on the ward, or in the operating theatre after you've had your anaesthetic.

Family and friends

A member of your family or a friend can usually go in with you to help you settle in. They may be asked to leave before you go for your operation. Ask your nurse if they know what time you are due to have your operation. Also check when the visiting times are.

The time it takes to have the operation depends on the type of surgery you have. Most operations take a few hours. The nurse will tell your family or friends who to phone to find out how you are.

Who will you see?

You will see your surgeon and anaesthetist before the operation. The surgeon will ask you if anything has changed since you signed the consent form or if you have any questions. They may ask you to sign the consent form again.

The anaesthetist asks you questions about your health. They also explain how you have the anaesthetic and about pain relief.

Ask as many questions as you need to. It may help to make a list before you go into hospital. If you have more questions when you’re there, the nurses can answer them or get the doctor to talk to you again.

Medicines you may have before surgery

Sometimes they may give you some medicine to help you relax. This is called a pre-med. This will be an hour or so before you go to the operating theatre. It can make your mouth feel dry but you can rinse your mouth with water to keep it moist.

If you've had pre med, your nurse and a porter take you to the operating theatre on a trolley. This is because it can make you sleepy. You can normally walk to the theatre if you haven't had a pre-med.

Your surgeon or anaesthetist may want you to have other medicines before you have your operation. They will explain what these are and what they are for.

Having an anaesthetic

You have a ​general anaesthetic​  so that you are asleep and can’t feel anything during the operation. Your anaesthetist gives you this in the anaesthetic room, next to the operating theatre.

All the doctors and nurses wear special clothes like pyjamas. They also wear hats and masks. This reduces your chance of getting an infection.

Your anaesthetist puts a small tube into a vein in your arm (cannula). You have fluids, medicines and the general anaesthetic through the cannula. The general anaesthetic sends you into a deep sleep. When you wake up, the operation will be over.

Before you go to sleep your anaesthetist might put a small tube through the skin of your back. It goes into the fluid around your spinal cord. They give you local anaesthetic and other medicine through the tube. This will cause numbness and relieve pain after the operation.

You may wake up after the operation with a small machine attached to this tube. This gives you regular painkilling medicines until you can take tablet painkillers.

Find out more about what to expect after your operation