With surgery just around the corner, the last thing on your mind should be “What do I need to do before my surgery?” Some may think this is an odd question. What do I need to prepare for? Isn’t that what my surgeon needs to do? Don’t I just need to lie on the operating table? The truth is: you do need to prepare a lot for your surgery. Because what is about to take place is one of the most important battles of your life. It’s a battle between pain and comfort, sickness and health, joy and sorrow. The first thing is mental preparation. You need to be confident in the decision you are making, so that when you undergo the surgery, you have a proper attitude and rational goal in mind, as well as a clear understanding of what the outcome of this surgery should be. In this way, maintaining a correct and rational mental attitude is also very beneficial to your recovery. The decision to have surgery is entirely in your hands – there is no one person or power that can influence or force you to make this decision. All you have to do is to make the final choice. The next step is to eat properly. Good nutrition is quite important to keep your immune system healthy. Maintaining a well-balanced food regimen and taking timely vitamin supplements in the weeks leading up to your surgery will help your wound heal and reduce the risk of wound infection. A healthy and balanced diet is more than enough to keep your body nourished. As for supplements, they are still medically controversial. If you are overweight, it is best to lose weight gradually through sensible dietary changes before surgery. For spinal surgery, an overweight body will increase the burden on the spine. If the spine is compared to a flagpole, the muscles in the front and back of the body are the ropes that hold the flagpole in place, so the extra weight puts too much pressure on the spine. This pressure is detrimental to wound healing and can increase the pain of the wound after surgery. In addition, these good eating habits that the patient developed before the surgery will generally continue after the surgery, becoming healthier and healthier. Again, it is all about staying in shape. Staying in shape may not be important to you, but it is important to your body. The weaker your muscles and cardiovascularity are at the time of surgery, the slower you will recover afterward. Why is it that professional athletes can get back on the field a month or two after major surgery? The answer is outstanding physical conditioning that allows them a short recovery period. Maybe their knees don’t work, but they can do other sports like swimming or bench pressing. This way they are able to keep their muscles at a high level while undergoing surgery, making the effects of the surgery minor. I’ve seen many athletes even the day before surgery doing various exercises to build up their uninjured muscles. Age is not a barrier. You can find the right way to get healthier at any point in your life. No matter how old you are, you can increase your chances of success with surgery by improving your body. Of course in the beginning, you may need the guidance of a professional trainer. Evidence shows that for older people, maintaining a suitable weight combined with targeted exercise for cardiovascular endurance is good for lung function. This means less dependence on oxygen and faster recovery times. Walking is also excellent exercise to prepare for surgery if illness doesn’t interfere. Exercise also boosts your body’s immune system and eliminates the depression that is common before surgery. I often encourage my patients to exercise as much as possible to stay in shape before surgery. The last thing you need to do is quit smoking. This bad habit change will be one of the most important behaviors in your life. If you have a plan to quit smoking, then the best opportunity to take action will be during surgery. Smoking greatly increases the chances of surgery failing and causing complications. Smoking doubles the damage anesthesia does to lung function. Smokers have a far greater chance of developing pneumonia after surgery than non-smokers. Smoking is also known to exacerbate pain in the spine. Smoking significantly increases the failure rate of spinal fusion surgery. In fact, many surgeons refuse to perform spinal fusion surgery on smokers. There is evidence that even temporary cessation of smoking before and after surgery can make the surgery more successful and reduce the chance of complications. You should stop smoking at least one month before your surgery. This will help improve your lung function, reduce lung fluid production, and clear your body of nicotine and carbon monoxide (yes, smoking involves inhaling small amounts of the deadly poisonous gas carbon monoxide at the same time). In short, while an emergency may not give you the means to quit smoking, lose weight and exercise ahead of time. But before a non-emergency surgery arrives, you should understand what you need to do to prepare. Following the advice above will lead to the best possible recovery after your surgery.