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How to Prepare for Surgery: Patient Guide
Knowing how to prepare for surgery makes the day calmer for you and your family. At Dr. R.K. Thakur Hospital, Gopalganj, we guide you at every step, from your first OPD visit to care after surgery at home. We understand that coming to hospital for an operation can feel worrying, especially when you travel from a village, a nearby district, Uttar Pradesh or Nepal.
If anything is unclear, please call or WhatsApp us on +91 72739 94786. Our hospital and emergency are open 24 hours.
Before you come
Before a long journey, please send photos of your old reports and prescriptions on WhatsApp to +91 72739 94786. Our team will tell you whether to come and on which day. This does not replace an examination, but it helps you plan.
Dr. Rajnish Kumar Thakur, our founder and chief surgeon, holds OPD Monday to Friday, 10 am to 7 pm. Our cardiology OPD is every Thursday and our cancer surgery OPD is on the first Saturday of every month.
- Old reports: ultrasound, X-ray, CT scan, blood tests and discharge papers
- Old prescriptions, including those from other doctors
- A list of your daily medicines, or the medicine strips themselves
- Aadhaar card or another photo ID
- Ayushman Bharat card, if you have one, and the mobile phone linked to your Aadhaar for OTP
- One family member who can stay with you
Please keep all papers in one file. Old reports can help us avoid repeat tests.
On the day of your OPD visit
Please try to reach us in the morning so that any tests can be finished the same day.
- Register at our reception with your name, age, address and phone number.
- Our staff may check your weight, blood pressure and pulse.
- Meet the doctor, explain your problem in your own words and show all your papers.
- If the doctor asks for tests, most can be done inside our hospital: blood tests, ultrasound, digital X-ray, ECG and endoscopy.
- Show the reports to the doctor, who will explain the diagnosis and the treatment plan to you.
- You may buy medicines from our in-house pharmacy if you wish. Please note your follow-up date.
If surgery is advised
If an operation is advised, our surgeon will explain why it is needed, how it is done and what recovery looks like. Before a laparoscopic (keyhole) operation, Dr. Thakur explains the procedure to a family member of every patient. Please ask all your questions at this stage. Our surgery checklist can help.
We explain the cost before admission. If you hold an Ayushman Bharat card, please meet our Ayushman help desk to check whether your procedure is covered. See our Ayushman Bharat page.
- Tests: blood and urine tests, and often an ECG, X-ray or ultrasound, depending on your age and the operation.
- Fitness check: if you have high blood pressure, diabetes, heart or breathing problems, we check that surgery is safe for you. Our visiting cardiologist does heart fitness checks on Thursdays.
- Anaesthesia check: our anaesthesia specialist examines you and explains the type of anaesthesia (the medicine that puts you to sleep or numbs the area).
- Fasting: usually nothing to eat or drink for 6 to 8 hours before the operation. Our team will tell you the exact time.
- Regular medicines: please do not stop any medicine on your own. Tell the doctor about blood thinners, sugar and blood pressure medicines.
- Consent: after we explain the operation and its risks, you or a family member signs a consent form.
Admission and hospital stay
Ours is a 40-bed hospital with private rooms, general wards, modern operation theatres and an ICU. At admission, our staff will explain the room options.
- Attendant: it helps if one responsible family member stays with the patient. Please keep visitors few so the patient can rest and infection is avoided.
- Food: after the operation, the doctor will tell you when to start water and then light food. Please do not give anything by mouth before that.
- Hygiene: wash your hands before touching the patient or the wound, keep the room clean and do not sit on the patient's bed.
- Please tell the nurse on duty at once about pain, fever, vomiting or any worry.
Discharge and follow-up
At discharge, we give you a discharge summary with your diagnosis, the operation done and your medicines. Please bring it to every follow-up visit. Read more in recovery after laparoscopic surgery.
- Medicines: take them exactly as written. Do not stop antibiotics early.
- Dressing: keep the wound clean and dry, and change the dressing only as advised.
- Stitches: usually removed or checked 7 to 10 days after the operation, depending on the wound.
- Activity: walk as advised, avoid lifting heavy weights until the doctor allows it, and follow the diet you were told.
- Follow-up: please come back on the date given, even if you feel well.
Warning signs: please call +91 72739 94786 or come back to us at once if you have fever, pain that keeps increasing, redness or pus from the wound, bleeding, repeated vomiting, a swollen belly, yellow eyes, difficulty passing urine or breathlessness.
If you are coming from far
Many of our patients come from Siwan, Saran (Chhapra), East and West Champaran, Kushinagar and Deoria in Uttar Pradesh, and Nepal. A little planning makes the journey easier. You will find the map on our Contact page.
- Please call or WhatsApp us before leaving to confirm that the doctor is available.
- Keep your phone charged, carry a charger and save +91 72739 94786.
- Our hospital is on Kamla Rai College Road, beside Hotel Ralson, Arar, Gopalganj. If you need directions, ask for Kamla Rai College Road or call us.
- Carry a photo ID, all medical papers and a change of clothes in case the patient needs to stay.
In an emergency
Our emergency department is open 24 hours, every day. For severe belly pain, repeated vomiting, an injury, heavy bleeding, inability to pass urine, or a child who has swallowed a coin, please come straight to us and call +91 72739 94786 on the way.
- Do not give food or water to a patient with severe belly pain until a doctor has seen them.
- Bring old reports and the medicines the patient takes.
- For chest pain, unconsciousness or heavy bleeding, go to the nearest hospital without delay. Time matters more than distance.
For chest pain, our team can do an ECG and examine the patient. We do not have a cath lab, so angiography and angioplasty are not done here; our doctor will advise a higher centre if needed.
Frequently asked questions
How to prepare for surgery at Dr. R.K. Thakur Hospital?
Please bring all old reports and your medicine list, complete the tests and fitness checks the doctor advises, and meet our anaesthesia specialist. Follow the fasting time our team gives you, usually 6 to 8 hours without food or drink. Do not stop regular medicines on your own. Ask us about costs or Ayushman coverage before admission, and bring one family member who can stay with you.
Should I come empty stomach for the OPD visit?
Usually you can eat normally before an OPD visit. But if the doctor may ask for an ultrasound of the abdomen, for example to look for gallbladder stones, you may need to come after 6 hours or more without food. If you are not sure, please call or WhatsApp us on +91 72739 94786 before you leave home.
Can the operation be done on the day of my first OPD visit?
It depends on your condition. We treat emergencies such as a burst appendix or intestinal obstruction at once. For planned operations, tests, the fitness check and the anaesthesia check come first, and our surgeon gives you a date once the reports are ready. Sending your old reports on WhatsApp before you travel can save time.
When are stitches removed after surgery?
Stitches are usually removed or checked about 7 to 10 days after the operation, but this depends on the type of operation, the stitch material and how the wound is healing. Some stitches dissolve on their own. We will tell you the date at discharge. Please keep the wound clean and dry until then.
How to prepare for surgery if I am coming from Uttar Pradesh or Nepal?
Please bring a valid photo ID, all old reports, prescriptions and your medicine list. If you have an Ayushman Bharat card, bring it and ask our help desk whether your treatment can be covered here. Call or WhatsApp us on +91 72739 94786 before leaving to confirm the OPD day, and plan to reach us in the morning.
How should I take care after surgery at home?
Take your medicines exactly as written and do not stop antibiotics early. Keep the wound clean and dry, and change the dressing only as advised. Walk a little every day, avoid lifting heavy weights until the doctor allows it, and eat the diet we advised. Please come back on the follow-up date, and call +91 72739 94786 at once if you have fever, increasing pain, pus, bleeding or repeated vomiting.
Dr. Rajnish Kumar Thakur
Founder and Chief Surgeon: Laparoscopic, Laser, Urology and General Surgeon
MBBS, DA, MS (General Surgery)
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