This information is for patients who have been booked to have surgery under the care of the thoracic surgery department.
Before your operation
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Your operation date
When your operation has been booked, a letter is sent to you from the surgeon's secretary.
In this letter you will be offered a date for your operation.
If you need to change this date, please contact the secretary on the number given in the letter. This will allow us to rearrange your date and give your original operation date to someone else.
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Where to come
Depending on your pre-admission assessment outcome, you will be asked to come either to:
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Guy's Hospital
Dorcas ward
9th floor, Borough Wing
Great Maze Pond
London SE1 9RT
Tel: 020 7188 8840
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Or
Surgical Admission Lounge
1st Floor, Tower Wing
Great Maze Pond
London SE1 9RT
You are usually asked to come into hospital the day before your operation, but please check your letter to be sure. On arrival at Guy's Hospital, you will need to go to Dorcas ward or the Surgical Admission Lounge on the day of your surgery.
If you wish to use our patient transport service, a member of the nurse-led assessment team must assess you. This involves a brief telephone interview and is completely confidential. Assessments must be carried out at least 48 hours before your hospital appointment. Please call the patient transport team on 020 7188 2888 to apply.
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What to bring with you
- All of the medicines that you currently take or use, in their original containers where possible. This includes prescription medicines, medicines you have bought over the counter and any alternative medicines.
- Nightwear, such as pyjamas and slippers to wear on the ward.
- Clean clothes and a pair of shoes to go home in.
Please also see the general inpatient information for a useful list of things you may wish to bring.
After your operation
All patients receive a telephone follow-up call between 9am and 12 noon, one week after they have been discharged from hospital. This is to identify and correct any problems that you may have after discharge.
The nurse case manager has specialist knowledge to support your recovery from surgery. He/she will make sure you have a follow-up appointment to see a thoracic surgeon at Guy's or your local hospital, or refer you back to the doctor at your local hospital who referred you.
Contacts for further information
If you have any questions or concerns before or after your operation, please contact either the nurse case managers or your surgeon's secretary. See the thoracic surgery team page for their contact details.