About anesthesia - Everything you need to know before your surgery

Alcohol and smoking can affect the outcome of you surgery. That is why it is important to prepare properly, giving yourself the best possible conditions for a successful result.

The hospital and patient rooms are smoke-free. Admitted patients and their relatives are referred to the designated smoking area outside on the terrace.

Smoking is permitted but discouragesm as it increases the risk of complications such as infections.

There are two main types of anesthesia: general anesthesia and local anesthesia, which can also be combined.

As preparation for the anesthesia, a thin plastic tube (an IV line) will be inserted into a vein in your hand for administering fluids and medications.

General anesthesia

General anesthesia is administered by injecting a sleeping agent through the IV line, causing you to gently fall asleep within 30 seconds to 1 minute. A pump continuously delivers the anesthetic during the operation. When the pump is stopped, you will typically wake up within about 8 minutes and often feel well enough to move yourself from the operating table to the bed.

Local anesthesia

Local anesthesia involves injecting an anesthetic fluid around the nerves near the area being operated on. This usually hurts no more than having a blood sample taken. We use various types of local anesthesia depending on the procedure.

Spinal anesthesia

With spinal anesthesia, an anesthetic fluid is injected between two vertebrae in the lower back. This causes numbness from the navel down. The anesthesia lasts 3-5 hours.

If only local or spinal anesthesia is used, you will remain awake and pain-free during the procedure. You may still feel pressure or touch. You are welcome to listen to music during the operation - feel free to bring your own music player.

Is anesthesia dangerous?

With modern anesthetic drugs and monitoring equipment, anesthesia is very safe. Everyone can tolerate anesthetic medication. You can compare it to taking a bus ride - extremely safe, but you still need to trust the driver. If you have other medical conditions, such as heart disease, the risk of complications may be slightly higher. In such cases, the anesthesiologist will explain the risks specific to your situation.

Complications from spinal anesthesia

A small number of patients - fewer than 2% - may experience headaches after spinal anesthesia. Most cases are mild and can be treated with bed rest, plenty of fluids, and painkillers. In more severe cases, the anesthesiologist can provide effective treatment.

Please contact us to learn more about our prices for consultations, treatments and surgeries. 

If your insurance company has approved your examination and treatment, we will send the invoice directly to them. If no approval has been provided, you will be responsible for the payment.

Payment must be made before your surgery via bank transfer. It is not possible to pay in installments.

Remember to bring your glasses. If you wear conntact lenses, they must be removed before anesthesia - regardless of the type of anethesia used.

It is important that you fast before receiving anesthesia. 

The fasting guidelines are as follows:

• Up to 2 hours before your appointment time, you may drink: water, cordial, sugar water, fruit huice without pulp, tea, or coffee.
• Up to 6 hours before your apoointment time, you may eat and drinks without restrictions.

Dairy products may be consumed up to 6 hours before your appointment.

Infants may be breastfed up to 3 hours before the appointment and may have formula up to 4 hours before the appointment.

It is recommended to drink sugary fluids (such as cordial or juice) up to 2 hours before your appointment, as this can reduce discomfort before and after the surgery. 

Shower

On the day of your surgery, you must take a shower before arriving.

Tongue piercings and any piercings near the surgical site must be removed prior to the procedure.

After the surgery

After your surgery, you will be taken back to your room and monitored until you are fully awake. You will then be offered food and drink. The doctor will inform you about the surgery and the next steps in your recovery.

Upon discharge

Before you are discharged, you will receive information about any necessary aftercare, rehabilitation, follow-up appointments, removal of stitches, medication, when to return to work, and more.

After discharge

Any surgical procedure carries a small risk of complications. Therefore, an adult must stay with you until the day after your anesthesia.

If you experience symptoms such as fever, increasing swelling, pain, or bleeding/leakage within the first few days, please contact the inpatient ward at +45 76 43 71 38.

Transport home

You are not allowed to drive yourself home and must be accompanied by an adult. We recommend that you do not use public transportation.

Meals will be provided to you during your hospital stay. If you have specific dietary needs, such as food allergies, please note them in the patient information form.

Unfortunately, we are not able to offer meals to relatives, but coffee, tea, and water are freely available.

For selected procedures, our physiotherapists will provide guidance on specific exercises or techniques to help you achieve the best possible recovery after your surgery. The physiotherapist will give you written instructions. In some cases, a follow-up appointment with one of our physiotherapists may be necessary. In other cases, we may refer you to public healthcare services or a private physiotherapist near your home. 

As an inpatient at Privathospitalet Mølholm, you should bring your regular medication and any special aids you use in daily life (e.g., hearing aids, walking stick, blood sugar monitor, etc.).

If you wear contact lenses, remember to bring your glasses.

Please also bring toiletries, loose-fitting clothing (for the journey home), shoes, slippers, and possibly reading material or music to enjoy during your stay or even during the procedure. Don't forget to bring your own headphones.

After your surgery, you will be seen by the specialist doctor, who will inform you about the procedure. Following this, the specialist will stay updated on your condition by phone through the nursing staff. If needed, the specialist can always be called in. Daily care, monitoring, and information will be handled by the nurses. Physiotherapists are also available in the ward and can provide you with guidance on any precautions related to your surgery. 

If you would like your medical record translated into another language, this can be arranged for a fee.

Charging stations are available in the parking areas, operated by Norlys. There are 22 charging stations at the patient parking lot, two of which are fast chargers intended for Flextrafik. No subscription is required to charge you vehicle.

All doctors at Privatshospitalet Mølholm are fully trained and licensed specialists in Denmark. You can find more information about each doctor or practitioner under the respective medical specialty (in Danish). 

Temporary aids such as crutches, toilet raiser, shower benches, grabbers, showhorns, sock aids, etc., are available for you to borrow. If you need ongoing assistance, such as a wheeled walker, rollator, or bedside commode, we can arrange this through the Assistive Device Center near your home.

Temporarily borrowed equipment should be returned to the reception during your follow-up appointment after the surgery.

When you arrive for admission, please check in at the reception in the inpatient ward. A nurse will greet you and show you to your room, after which you will be prepared for surgery. For some procedures, blood samples may be taken upon admission.

Before your surgery, you will be seen by both the anesthesiologist and the specialist who will perform the operation. This is your opportunity to ask any remaining questions that were not covered during your initial consultation.

It can be reassuring and helpful to bring a companion. However, due to space limitations, we recommend that you are accompanied by only one relative.

To ensure the comfort of other patients in the ward, relatives are only allowed to stay in the patient room to a limited extent during the hospital stay.

The discharge date and time are typically agreed upon during you initial consultation. The nurse will also provide you with pain relief medication or a prescription for the first period after your surgery.

We have partnership wih several accommodation options in the area, should you or your relatives need a place to stay overnight.

See accommodation options.

Privathospitalet Mølholm is bound by confidentiality and can therefore not provide information about a patient's condition without the patient's consent.

The use of mobile phones is permitted in the hospital, so you are welcome to contact your relatives.

It can be reassuring and helpful to have a companion with you. Relatives are allowed to stay in the patient room to a limited extent, out of consideration for other patients.

During your stay, you will be accommodated in a shared room with two beds.

After the operation, you will be escorted back to the ward. You will be monitored closely during the first few hours.

You will receive pain-relieving medication before, during and after the surgery. The goal is for you to experience only mild pain. Pain is highly individual, and so is pain management. Strong pain medication (such as morphine) may have side effects, but you decide - in consultation with the nurse - how much pain relief you wish to receive.  

If you develop a fever, cold, or similar symptoms a few days before your scheduled examination and/or surgery, please contact us at +45 87 20 30 40.

Privathospitalet Mølholm and all staff are bound by a duty of confidentiality.

Privathospitalet Mølholm does not provide transportation to or from the hospital. However, we are happy to assist in arranging transport by Falck or taxi when you are ready to go home.

Several health insurance providers cover transport expenses to and from the hospital for their patients.

In our patient rooms, there are TV screens where you can stream DR.TV. If you wish to use other streaming services, you will need to bring your own device.

You will first schedule a pre-admission appointment through our secretaries. The specialist who performs the pre-admission examination will be the same doctor who may perform the surgery or other treatment.

During the pre-admission examination, we will inform you about your treatment options and the overall process. If necessary, blood tests, X-rays, and possibly and MRI scan may be taken as part of the examination - even if this has not been arranged in advance. If you have previously had relevant X-rays or other examinations, we will obtain them from the public hospital system or other private hospitals.

Before admission, you will need to complete and return a questionnaire regarding your health status for anesthesia purposes, a list of your usual medications, and a consent form for treatment.

We always try to find the earliest possible appointment for you. You are very welcome to call us to inquire about when your examination and any potential surgery can take place.

To ensure the best possible treatment, we will, when necessary, exchange relevant health information with your general practitioner, other hospitals, laboratories, your insurance campany, and possibly home care services.

If you do not wish to have your health information shared, you must object in writing.

Any other exchange of information about your treatment (for example, with relatives or the municipality) requires your written consent.

The above information is included in our appointment letters.

Before surgery and admission, a consent form for treatment will be completed.

You are welcome to bring your own computer. You are also welcome to use our guest Wi-Fi. Please connect to the network Molholm-Guest.