How you prepare

Food and medications

You'll need to fast — stop eating or drinking anything — in the hours before your surgery. Follow your doctor's recommendation on the specific number of hours.

If you're on medications, ask your doctor if you should change your usual medication routine in the days before surgery. Tell your doctor about any over-the-counter medications, vitamins or other dietary supplements you're taking.

Depending on your procedure, you may receive one of the following types of anesthesia:

• General anesthesia. With general anesthesia, you will be fully asleep and a tube will be placed in your throat. General anesthesia is used for laparoscopic myomectomy and usually for abdominal myomectomy; it is sometimes also used for hysteroscopic myomectomy.
• Monitored anesthesia care (MAC). With this type of anesthesia, you typically don't remember anything and feel as if you're fully asleep. You don't have a tube placed in your throat. MAC is often used for hysteroscopic myomectomy, since it's a less invasive procedure and therefore requires less anesthesia.

Sometimes other types of anesthesia, such as a spinal or local, may be used. Ask your doctor about the type of anesthesia you may receive.

Finally, talk to your doctor about pain medication and how it will likely be given.

Other preparations

Whether you stay in the hospital for just part of the day or overnight depends on the type of procedure you have. Abdominal myomectomy (laparotomy) usually requires a hospital stay of one to two days. In most cases, laparoscopic or robotic myomectomy is done outpatient or with only one overnight stay. Hysteroscopic myomectomy is often done with no overnight hospital stay.

Your facility may require that you have someone accompany you on the day of surgery. Make sure you have someone lined up to help with transportation and to be supportive.