Surgery
I am having my thyroid removed next month and I wanted to know why they do the pre-admission testing and what they look for. I have to have a chest x-ray, ekg and blood work. Is this something I need to be worried about?

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Dr. Joshua’s Answer:

These are all routine examinations to evaluate and minimize the risks of surgery, or more correctly, anaesthesia risk. Modern surgery and anaesthesia adhere to strict quality standards and the risk of complications due to anaesthesia is very small, thanks partly to the examinations done before surgery. EKG and chest x-ray are taken to assess the health of your heart and lungs, and blood work is done to assess various parameters that tell the anaesthesiologist and surgeon whether special attention should be paid to some aspects of the operation.?

The lab work includes hemoglobin, platelets, and blood coagulation tests. If there is bleeding during surgery, either expected or unexpected, knowledge of these laboratory variables enables the surgeon an anesthetist to take measures to prevent and treat possible bleeding during surgery.