Quite unlike some type of surgeries, spinal surgery is never a medical emergency. People who need to undergo it are told of it weeks in advance. This gives them enough time to both physically as well as mentally prepare for what is going to come.

Physical Evaluation

The amount of risk associated with a specific type of surgery is varied and apart from other factors, it depends upon the physical and mental condition of the person to be operated upon. Hence, it is necessary to assess the level of physical and mental fitness of the patient.

Physical preoperative evaluation: It incorporates preparing a detailed personal and familial report of complication causing medical conditions such as breathing problem, diabetes, coronary heart disease and other such problems. Apart from these other details such as allergies to any specific type of medication, dietary supplements or medications taken, alcohol and tobacco use are collected.

Similarly, it is important to assess the mental toughness of patients before they are operated upon. While spinal surgery is usually performed under general anaesthesia, sometimes local anaesthesia is performed. This allows the patient to watch what is happening, something which can be traumatic. Even otherwise, mental fitness determines their ability to fight pain at a psychological level.

Why Do Pre-Operative Evaluation

It is necessary to do preoperative evaluation in order to minimize the possibility of any untoward complication during the course of surgery. As a matter of fact, preoperative evaluation allows surgeons to prepare for the surgery down to the last detail in advance. In this way, all concerns can be addressed even before the surgery has been performed.

Are There Any Tests to be performed?

The answer to the above question is yes. Tests like blood tests, diabetes test, urinary tests, pregnancy test, test to determine rate of metabolism, cardio-vascular problems and other such problems are necessary to be performed. These tests can help surgeons figure symptoms such as:

* Anaemia (low levels of oxygen carrying red blood cells)
* Level of glucose in bloodstream (to determine hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia)
* Kidney infection 
* Level of electrolytes (such as calcium)
* Presence of coronary heart diseases

Check List for Days Leading up to your Spinal Surgery

Here is a checklist for the days leading up to spinal surgery:

* Stop taking blood thinning medications (such as aspirin).
* You would need assistance during the recovery period. Ask a friend or relative to help you during this period.
* Stack up your pantry with foods of healthy variety. As far as post-operative diet is concerned, you would need to religiously follow what your doctor would recommend. It is best to start adhering to it right from the beginning.
* Consult your doctor if there is any further complication.