What to Bring to Hospital for Surgery: A Packing List That Helps

For a planned operation, bring a small bag with your paperwork, your current medicines in their original boxes, a list of what you take, loose comfortable clothes, slip-on shoes, glasses or hearing aids with their cases, a phone charger with a long cable and a few things to pass the time. Leave jewellery, large amounts of cash and anything valuable at home. That covers most stays; the details below help you fine-tune it for a day case or a few nights on a ward.

Always check the letter or leaflet from your hospital first. Units have their own rules on what fits beside a bed, whether you can bring food in and when to stop eating and drinking, and those instructions come before any general list.

The essentials

These are the items people most often wish they had remembered. Put them in an outside pocket so you are not digging for them at the admissions desk.

• Your admission letter and any forms you were asked to fill in.
• A written list of your medicines, with doses and times, plus anything you buy over the counter and any supplements.
• The medicines themselves, in their original packaging, unless you were told otherwise.
• Contact details for the person collecting you and for a next of kin, written down rather than only stored in your phone.
• Notes on allergies and anything unusual about past anaesthetics.
• Glasses, contact lens case, hearing aids and dentures, each with a labelled case so nothing is lost on a tray.

Clothes that work with a sore body

After an operation, buttons, zips over a wound and tight waistbands become surprisingly hard work. Choose clothes for the body you will have on the way out, not the one you walk in with.

• A loose top that opens at the front, especially after shoulder, chest or abdominal surgery.
• Soft trousers or shorts wide enough to pass over a dressing, brace or bulky bandage. After knee or leg surgery, shorts or wide-legged joggers are much easier than jeans.
• Underwear that sits clear of the wound area.
• Slippers or shoes with a closed back and a grippy sole, roomy enough for a swollen foot. Backless slippers are easy to trip in, particularly with crutches.
• A dressing gown or light cardigan; wards can feel warm one hour and draughty the next.

Small comforts for the waiting and the ward

Much of a surgery day is waiting: for the anaesthetist, for your slot, for the ward round, for transport. A few small things make those hours easier.

• A phone charger with an extra-long cable, as sockets are often behind the bed.
• Earplugs and an eye mask for a night on a busy ward.
• Lip balm and a small bottle of moisturiser; hospital air is dry.
• A book, puzzle or downloaded shows, with headphones.
• Toothbrush, toothpaste, a hairbrush and any toiletries you use daily, in travel sizes.
• A notebook and pen for questions you think of between visits, and for the answers.

If someone is coming with you, agree beforehand who keeps the notebook. A companion who writes things down while you are drowsy is worth more than any gadget, and there are practical tips on taking that role in our piece on supporting someone at medical appointments.

What to leave at home

A day case or a longer stay?

Going home the same day

For day surgery, keep the bag light: documents, medicines, a comfortable outfit to go home in and something to read. You will normally need an adult to collect you and stay with you for the first night, because driving and being alone straight after a general anaesthetic or sedation are usually ruled out. Check how long your unit expects that to last.

Staying a few nights

Add two or three changes of nightwear and underwear, a washbag, a light jumper and a small bag for laundry. Many hospitals now encourage patients to get up, dress and walk soon after surgery as part of enhanced recovery after surgery, so day clothes are useful rather than optimistic.

Plan the journey there and back

Large hospitals can be confusing on a morning when you are hungry and nervous. Look up which entrance and which department your letter names, how parking works, and how long the walk is from the car park or bus stop. Some sites have screens and signposted routes to the main departments, and the ideas behind them are covered in our article on digital wayfinding in hospitals.

The trip home deserves just as much thought. If you will be on crutches, practise with them before the day if you can, and read up on walking with crutches, stairs included. Set up the house before you leave: a clear path from the door, a chair with arms, and the things you use most at waist height. Our guide to recovering from knee surgery at home has a fuller checklist that suits many other operations too.

A last check the night before

1. Reread the fasting instructions and set an alarm for your last food and drink.
2. Take off nail varnish and jewellery.
3. Pack the medicines and the written list together.
4. Charge your phone and put the long cable in the bag.
5. Confirm the lift home and leave the bag by the door.

If anything changes before the day, such as a new cough, a cold, a cut near the operation site or a new medicine, ring the number on your admission letter. The team would much rather hear about it the evening before than at the bedside.