What Happens on Surgery Day: An Hour-by-Hour Walkthrough

Surgery day almost always feels smaller and calmer than patients imagine. You arrive at the hospital, are admitted and changed, meet your surgeon and anaesthetist, walk to the operating room, fall asleep, and wake up in recovery with the operation already behind you — often with less pain than you expected. For most body procedures done as day cases, you go home the same evening. This guide walks through that day hour by hour, the way it unfolds for patients of Dr. Paulo Michels at Elyzee Hospital in Abu Dhabi, for people travelling from Abu Dhabi & Dubai and across the UAE. Your own timings and plan are confirmed in consultation and pre-operative assessment, not from an article — but knowing the shape of the day removes most of the anxiety attached to it.

What should you do the night before and the morning of surgery?

The day really begins the evening before. You will have been given fasting instructions — typically no food for several hours before your arrival time, with specific guidance on clear fluids and any morning medications — and it matters that you follow them exactly, because they keep anaesthesia safe. Shower as instructed, sleep as well as you can, and leave jewellery, make-up, nail varnish and contact lenses at home.

Pack a small bag the night before so the morning is calm. Sensible things to bring: your ID and any paperwork the clinic asked for, a phone charger, a loose, comfortable outfit that is easy to put on afterwards (front-buttoning tops for chest or breast procedures, soft elasticated trousers for abdominal work), flat slip-on shoes, and any regular medication in its box. Arrange for a responsible adult to drive you home and, ideally, to stay with you for the first night. You will not be allowed to drive yourself after a general anaesthetic, and this is not negotiable.

What happens when you arrive and are admitted?

You will be asked to arrive a set amount of time before your operation — usually a couple of hours — and that window is not wasted waiting; it is when the safety checks happen. Admissions staff confirm your details, you change into a surgical gown, and a nurse records your baseline observations: blood pressure, heart rate, temperature and weight. You will be asked, more than once and by more than one person, to confirm your name, your date of birth and the operation you are having. This deliberate repetition is a safety ritual, not a sign that anyone has lost track — it is how modern hospitals prevent errors.

You will also be asked to confirm you have fasted, and to sign or reconfirm your consent if that was not completed earlier. If you take regular medication, this is the moment to make sure the team knows.

Why does the surgeon draw on you before surgery?

Before you go anywhere near the operating room, Dr. Michels sees you while you are standing up, and marks the surgical plan directly on your skin with a pen. This step looks simple and is quietly one of the most important parts of the day. Many of the decisions that shape a result — where an incision sits, how tissue is balanced side to side, where the natural contours fall — depend on how the body looks upright, under gravity, which is nothing like how it looks once you are lying flat and asleep.

These markings are your map for procedures like a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) or liposuction, where symmetry and incision placement are everything. It is also your last unhurried chance to ask questions and to raise anything on your mind. Nothing about this stage should feel rushed.

What is the anaesthesia actually like?

This is the part patients fear most and understand least, so it is worth being precise. For body and breast surgery, the anaesthetist uses TIVA — total intravenous anaesthesia — a general anaesthetic delivered entirely through a drip into a vein rather than as a gas you breathe. Many patients find it a smoother experience, with less of the grogginess and nausea some associate with older techniques.

Dr. Michels’ plan also uses ultrasound-guided nerve blocks. Using ultrasound to see the nerves precisely, the anaesthetist places local anaesthetic around the nerves that carry sensation from the surgical area, numbing the region before the operation even begins. The practical payoff comes when you wake: because those nerves are already quiet, the first hours are markedly more comfortable, and the need for strong painkillers is reduced. You will meet the anaesthetist beforehand, they will review your history and answer your questions, and then, in the operating room, a small cannula goes into the back of your hand. The medication enters, you feel pleasantly heavy, and the next thing you know it is over.

What happens during the operation — and where are you while it happens?

Once you are asleep, you are moved and positioned carefully, the skin is cleaned and sterile drapes are placed, and the team runs a final check — confirming your identity, the procedure and the site against the markings — before the first incision. Throughout, the anaesthetist stays at your head, continuously monitoring your heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen and depth of anaesthesia. You are never left unwatched for a moment.

You will have no awareness of any of this, and no memory of it. How long it takes depends entirely on the operation and whether procedures are combined; your own expected duration is something the clinic discusses with you in advance. What matters to know is that the time passes for you in an instant.

What is waking up in the recovery room like?

You wake in the recovery room — a monitored bay staffed by nurses whose entire job is the first stretch after anaesthesia. Expect to feel drowsy, a little disoriented, perhaps cold or thirsty; all of this is ordinary and passes. The nurses keep a close eye on your observations, manage any nausea, and stay ahead of discomfort. Thanks to the nerve blocks placed earlier, many patients are surprised by how manageable those first hours feel.

You will notice the practical furniture of recovery: a drip in your arm, a compression garment or dressing over the operated area, and possibly a thin drain if your procedure calls for one. None of it is alarming once you know it is meant to be there. As you become more alert, you will be offered sips of water and, a little later, something light to eat.

When can you go home — and what does discharge involve?

Many body and breast procedures at Elyzee Hospital are performed as day cases, meaning you go home the same evening once you have met a few simple milestones: you are awake and stable, your pain is controlled with oral medication, you can drink and pass urine, and you can stand and walk a few steps with help. There is no fixed clock on this — you leave when your body is ready, not before.

Before you go, a nurse takes you through your discharge instructions: how and when to take your medication, how to care for your dressings and garment, what activity is allowed, warning signs to watch for, and the date of your first follow-up. Ask for anything to be repeated or written down — the anaesthetic can blur the memory of instructions given while you are still drowsy, which is another reason your companion should be present for this conversation. Then your driver takes you home.

Some larger or combined operations, or particular medical circumstances, call for an overnight stay instead. Whether your procedure is a day case is decided in advance and confirmed at your pre-operative assessment, so you will never be guessing on the day itself.

When should you contact the clinic after you get home?

Mild soreness, tightness, bruising, swelling and tiredness are all expected in the first days, and they improve steadily. Some symptoms, however, warrant a same-day call rather than a wait-and-see approach. Contact the clinic promptly if you notice:

• Pain that is severe and getting worse rather than easing, and is not controlled by your prescribed medication
• Bleeding that soaks through a dressing, or a dressing that becomes increasingly saturated
• Spreading redness, heat or discharge around an incision
• Swelling that increases suddenly, or is clearly worse on one side than the other
• A calf that becomes painful, swollen or tender, or new shortness of breath or chest discomfort
• Feeling increasingly unwell — faint, feverish or worse overall — instead of gradually better

None of these necessarily means something is wrong, but each deserves a conversation the same day. Dr. Michels’ team would always rather hear from you early than have you wait and worry.

The day is a process, not an ordeal

Surgery day has a rhythm: careful checks, a clear plan drawn on your skin, an anaesthetic designed for comfort, an operation you sleep through entirely, and a monitored, unhurried recovery before you go home. Understanding that sequence is the best antidote to the anxiety patients carry into it. For patients from Abu Dhabi & Dubai, Dr. Paulo Michels and the team at Elyzee Hospital in Abu Dhabi walk you through your own version of this day in consultation — so that when it arrives, almost nothing about it is a surprise.