Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
Your operation day, from waking up to the ward | CION Cancer Clinics
On the day of cancer surgery you arrive with an empty stomach, go through a series of safety checks, meet your surgeon and anaesthetist, and wait to be called to theatre. After the operation you wake in a recovery room, then move to a ward or ICU. This page walks through each part of the day, what the family does, and what only your own team can tell you. CION Cancer Clinics’ surgical oncologists in Hyderabad can talk this through with you.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Muralidhar MuddusettyConsultant Surgical Oncologist · MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery, AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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On this page
- What happens on the day of cancer surgery?
- What happens between waking up and going into theatre?
- Why are you asked the same questions again and again?
- What happens while you are asleep, and when you wake?
- What do you do, and what does the family do?
- What do families often get wrong about the day?
- What do the words used on the day mean?
- Common questions about the day of surgery
The short answer
What happens on the day of cancer surgery?
Most of the day is checks and waiting, and the operation is only one part of it. You arrive with an empty stomach, meet the nurse, the surgeon and the anaesthetist, change into a gown and walk or are wheeled to the theatre. After the operation you wake in a recovery area before moving to a ward or an intensive care bed.
Why the morning feels so slow
Every check is repeated on purpose. Your name, the operation and the side of the body are asked more than once, by different people. This is a safety habit, and it does not mean anyone has lost your file. The theatre list also moves at the pace of the cases before yours, so your start time can shift.
What the family should know
One or two family members are usually asked to stay close for the whole day. Someone may be needed to sign a form, to speak to the surgeon, or to bring medicines and documents from home.
This page describes a typical day. Your hospital will give you its own timings and instructions, and those come first.Before theatre
What happens between waking up and going into theatre?
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At home, or on the ward, early morning
You stop eating and drinking at the time you were given. Take only the medicines the team told you to take, with a small sip of water if they allowed it. Bathe, remove nail polish, jewellery and make-up, and leave valuables with the family.
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Arriving and checking in
Bring your reports, scans, medicine list, ID and insurance or scheme card. The admission desk confirms your details and fits a name band on your wrist. Check the spelling. It is used at every step that follows.
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The nurse's checks
Your blood pressure, pulse, temperature, weight and sugar level are checked. You may have a blood test, a drip placed in your hand or arm, and stockings fitted to protect the veins in your legs.
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The surgeon and the anaesthetist visit
The surgeon may mark the operation site on your skin with a pen. The anaesthetist asks when you last ate and about loose teeth, allergies and earlier anaesthetics. This is the moment to ask anything still on your mind.
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Waiting to be called
You change into a gown and wait on a trolley or bed. This wait can be long if the case before yours runs over. When the theatre is ready, a porter or nurse takes you through, and the family says goodbye at the door.
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistSafety checks
Why are you asked the same questions again and again?
Each question guards against a different mistake. Answer every time, even when it feels repetitive.
Who you are
Your name and date of birth are matched to your wrist band and your file. Two patients with the same name on one list is more common than people expect.
What is being done
You are asked to say the operation in your own words. If what you say does not match the form, the team stops and sorts it out before anything goes ahead.
Which side
For a breast, a kidney, a limb or a lung, the side is confirmed and often marked on the skin. Do not wash the mark off.
Food, allergies and medicines
An empty stomach lowers the chance of food coming up into the lungs while you are asleep.
Tell them plainly about
- Anything eaten or drunk that morning
- Blood thinners or diabetes medicines
- Any allergy, including to plasters
During and after
What happens while you are asleep, and when you wake?
Once you are asleep, you know nothing more until you wake. The team places any extra lines and tubes needed after you are unconscious, so you do not feel them go in. The operation itself can take a short time or most of the day, depending on what is being done.
The recovery area
You wake in a recovery room next to the theatre, with a nurse beside you. You may feel cold, dry-mouthed, confused or sick. You may find a drain, a catheter in the bladder or an oxygen mask. These are expected, and the nurse will treat pain and sickness as soon as you mention them.
The ward or the ICU
When your breathing, blood pressure and pain are settled, you move to a ward or an intensive care bed. After a large operation, a night in ICU is often planned from the start. It does not by itself mean something went wrong. The family can usually see you once you are settled there.
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Sharing the day
What do you do, and what does the family do?
The patient
The family
Keeps to the fasting time, and takes only the medicines allowed
Carries the reports, medicine list, ID and scheme or insurance papers
Answers every check honestly, even if something was forgotten
Stays reachable by phone, with the ringer switched on
Asks the anaesthetist anything still worrying them
Waits in the place the ward staff name, and tells them if they step away
Rests and reports pain early after waking
Keeps visitors few, so the patient can sleep
Commonly believed
What do families often get wrong about the day?
"A small sip of tea in the morning will not matter."
It can matter. Milk, sugar and food count, and the operation may be moved or postponed if you have had them. If you did eat or drink by mistake, say so. Hiding it is far more dangerous than a delay.
"If the start time slips, something is wrong with my case."
Usually the case before yours took longer, or an emergency needed the theatre. Delays on a surgical list are common and rarely have anything to do with you.
"The whole family should be at the hospital all day."
One or two people are enough. A crowded waiting area makes it harder for staff to find the right person, and the patient needs rest more than visitors on the first evening.
"Going to ICU afterwards means the surgery went badly."
After many large cancer operations, ICU is planned in advance for close watching. Ask the team before the day whether an ICU bed is part of your plan, so the family is not caught off guard.
Words you will hear
What do the words used on the day mean?
- Nil by mouth
- Nothing to eat or drink from the time you were given. Your team tells you whether small sips of water are allowed.
- Consent form
- The signed record that the operation, its risks and the other options were explained to you and that you agreed.
- Recovery or PACU
- The room next to theatre where you wake up with a nurse watching you closely.
- Theatre list
- The order in which a surgeon's patients are operated on that day. Your place on it sets your start time.
Questions we are asked
Common questions about the day of surgery
What time should we reach the hospital?
Come at the time written on your admission slip, not the time you expect the operation to start. Arrival is set early so the checks, the blood tests and the visits can be done without rushing. If you travel from a district outside Hyderabad, ask whether admitting the evening before makes more sense.
Can I take my BP or sugar tablets that morning?
Only as the anaesthetist or surgeon told you at your check before surgery. Some medicines are taken with a sip of water; others are held back. Do not decide on your own. If you were not given clear instructions, call the ward the day before and ask them to confirm each tablet by name.
Can a family member come into theatre with me?
Usually not. The family can walk with you up to the pre-op area and wait close by. For children, many hospitals let one parent stay until the child is asleep. Ask the ward team what their own rule is, so there is no upset at the door.
What should I bring on the day?
Every report and scan, your medicine list with the tablets in their strips, photo ID, the scheme or insurance card, and loose comfortable clothes for going home. Glasses, hearing aids and dentures can come too, in a labelled case. Leave jewellery, cash and gold at home.
Why was my operation moved to later in the day?
The most common reasons are that an earlier case ran long, an emergency needed the theatre, or a test result had to come back first. It is frustrating when you are hungry. Ask the nurse whether a drip can be started to keep you from getting dry while you wait.
Will I be awake when I am taken into theatre?
Yes, for most people. You will see the theatre, the lights and several staff in masks. Stickers are placed on your chest and a clip on your finger. The anaesthetist then gives medicine through your drip, and most people remember nothing after that moment.
When can the family see me after the operation?
Usually once you have left the recovery room and settled on the ward or in ICU. Visits in ICU are often short and limited to one or two people at a time. The ward team will tell the family when it is a good moment, so ask them rather than waiting outside the theatre door.
What can this page not tell me?
It cannot tell you your own start time, how long your operation will take, or whether you will need ICU. It also cannot tell you which medicines to stop. Those depend on your operation and your health, and your surgeon and anaesthetist are the right people to answer them before the day.
Meet the Specialists
17+ senior cancer specialists. One panel for your case.
Trained at AIIMS, Tata Memorial, and leading international centres. Combined 150+ years of experience. Every complex case is reviewed by 3+ of them — together.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
MBBS(Gold Medal), DNB(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Gold Medal)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
Medical Oncologist
Medical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Muralidhar Muddusetty
MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery) (AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh)
Surgical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Vinay Mamidala
MBBS, MS(General Surgery), M.Ch(Surgical Oncology), FMAS, FARIS(Ongoing)
Surgical Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Hematologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Vajja Sandeep Kumar
MBBS, MS (General Surgery), DrNB (Surgical Oncology), FALS Oncology
Surgical Oncologist
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Sources
- NHS — General anaesthesia
- Cancer Research UK — Surgery for cancer
- Macmillan Cancer Support — Surgery
- American Cancer Society — Cancer surgery
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
What Happens in the Operating TheatreThe part of the day behind the theatre doorsHow Long Will the Operation Take?Why times vary so much between operationsWaiting During Surgery: A Guide for FamiliesWhat the family can do during the long waitThe Days Before Your OperationFasting, packing and the evening before
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