Question:
What to write on my belly Pre Op?
I know I've seen a thread on this here before, but couldn't find it in the library. I usually just lurk here, but finally have a date - JUNE 17TH!!!! - and have read some of the funny things people have written on themselves for the surgical team to see before they started, like, "Super Model Inside - Please be Careful" and things of that nature. Now that my time has come I can't come up with a thing. Do you have any ideas? — Leslie R. (posted on June 9, 2003)
June 9, 2003
Girl, I was going to write, "Precious Cargo - Be Careful Please"
or write a big smiley face and say, "Have a Good Day". Then I
remembered my surgeon has no sense of humor. LOL!!!! ;) I think it's a
great idea. And congrats on your date!!!! WOOOOHOOOOOOOO Cheryl -- Lap
RNY 6/2/03 - down 16 pounds in 7 days!!!
— Cheryl M.
June 9, 2003
I have a GREAT sense of humor....but this isn't the time to be putting
ANYTHING unsterile on your skin. They'll swab your belly with that
orangey/brown stuff but if the ink doesn't come off it may disturb the
surgeon's line of vision. They try to make the incision (at least the OPEN
incision) really straight so the scar won't end up crooked. Sorry, but
it's not the best idea to be writing stuff on your belly. Think of
something else cutsie...but keep it out of the OR. Hugs, Joy
— [Deactivated Member]
June 9, 2003
I had a smiley face sticker and a small note on some paper tape that said
"Take good care of me... I'm the only me I have"
I am an OR nurse and appreciate a laugh now and then. I figured if the
doctor didn't get it at least the nurses would have a smile. And the
sticker and tape both came off easy so they didn't interfer with the prep
or the surgery.
— Anne R.
June 9, 2003
I think that is a really cute idea! If it was not sterile, it would be by
the time they scrubbed you, which is routine. I would put something like,
"One year to Diva" or something. I am happy for you!
Congratulations!
— Marcy G.
June 9, 2003
Hi..I didn't have the nerve to do mine. I wanted to write, CAUTION: IF
ALIEN FOUND INSIDE PLEASE DESTROY, BUT PLEASE DO NOT DESTROY THE BARER!!!!
— jacki L.
June 9, 2003
why not start this process with respect? i know i disrspected my body pre
op and post op i am taking such better care of myself that the idea is just
hitting me in the wrong way.
i wish you luck and will keep a good thought on 6/17!
— nan K.
June 9, 2003
Thank you, Nan...you're correct about "respect". Do people
realize how incredibly SERIOUS this is? The surgeons/nurses/assistants
don't have time to be "scrubbing" ink off a person's belly!
They're prepared to swab, not <b>scrub</b>, the patient.
Frankly, if I was the surgeon, I'd be royally p*ssed if my patient
disturbed my "canvas" by writing on it. This just isn't the time
or place to be cute/funny.
— [Deactivated Member]
June 9, 2003
I would not do anything so ignorant. I hate to be blunt about and really I
have a great since of humor, but thi is not the time to be playing games.
You are about to embark on a life saving event and I don't think the
surgeon is going to think highly of you if you write some goofy message an
your stomach.
— Justin F.
June 9, 2003
Oy Vey people, lighten up. Use paper tape to write your message on and it
can be easily removed. I think it's a great idea and wish I thought of it
myself for my surgery a year ago. Humor is a healthy emotion.
— Laureen59
June 9, 2003
I had my kids make a big target on my tummy over my belly button.
Underneath I wrote..Cation.. future super model inside!:)
I asked the nurse if it was okay beforehand, and they said it was FINE
because they would scrub it all before surgery. When I woke up, my Doc and
the nurses had left me a note..saying.."thanks for the wonderful
laugh! We enjoyed it!"
When seeing my Doc post-op, he told the entire office what I had done, and
how funny he found it!
I didnt then, and dont now, take my surgery lightly.Just a lil humor is
all :)
— Goodgirl
June 9, 2003
Oh, my ... such serious responses. Did I mention that I'm an RN and I WORK
IN THE OPERATING ROOM? You would be surprised at the laughs we get from
patients putting little notes and stickers on themselves. And I've NEVER
seen a surgeon get upset about it. Yes, this is a serious procedure - but
its not the end of the world. If putting a little note on some tape makes
you feel better then GO FOR IT! Its good to remind those in the OR that
you're not just another body - you're a person with a personality and you
deserve individual treatment. Don't use a permanent marker...even better
to put the "note" on something removable like paper tape - don't
make too much of a big thing since the nurses will have to scrub you off
(as in SCRUB not swab) .... whatever makes you feel more relaxed.
******** from an OR-RN who has BTDT!
— Anne R.
June 9, 2003
I think it's a GREAT idea:) I believe both my surgeons will get a kick out
of a last minute message! I think i'll use a post-it note instead of
writing on myself though. What a great, fun idea! I can't believe so many
people got bent out of shape over this.
— kathy B.
June 9, 2003
I, too, am a pre-op/recovery room nurse, and we get a kick out of some of
the things we see. "Be Gentle With Me". "Is This Gonna
Hurt?". LOL Like another poster said, don't do it with permanent
marker or anything that will be hard to get off because the nurse will have
to prep you and get it all off before your surgery actually starts. If the
surgeon isn't amused, he/she will just have to get over it! But most of
them will be amused. I even had one person wedge one of those little round
watch-battery operated flashing pumpkin lights in their belly button....now
THAT was funny! LOL Good luck to you!
— Lynette B.
June 9, 2003
what a cute idea!!! wish i had thought of it. humor is a positive thing
& we need to go into this surgery/life change with positive thinking. i
was lucky tho. my anesthesist probably had dreamed of being a stand up
comic because he came to me pre-op & the first thing he told me was a
joke. the jokes didnt stop coming in the o.r. either & he even kept me
awake while waiting for my surgeon & hammering out one liners all the
while the nurses were prepping me. everyone, including me, got in on the
act & by the time the surgeon appeared, we were all roaring with
laughter. as the surgeon scrubbed, we all bantered back & forth.
finally the anesthesist asked the surgeon what the hell was taking him so
long? was he trying to scrub away evidence of something by taking his skin
off? in between laffs i said...'hey dont get him mad! hes the one thats
gonna be holding the scalpel!!!' that of course sent all of us into new
fits of laughter. i cant begin to tell you how relaxed i was knowing that
the people who would be holding my life in their hands were all in a
wonderful, happy & stress reduced mood.
— sheryl titone
June 9, 2003
How about "Cut on dotted line"?
— merri B.
June 10, 2003
Original poster here. I don't normally think of myself as thin-skinned but,
jeez-louise, all I did was ask for ideas, not a ditribe against how I
conduct my life! My mother always told me not to say anything if I couldn't
say anything nice. She also told me to pick my battles, so I won't waste my
time justifying myself to the "judgementals". Thanks to those of
you who appreciated my sense of whimsy, but I guess I won't be posting
anymore if this is an example of the famous AMOS support. How
disappointing! :-(
— Leslie R.
June 10, 2003
My son was messing around with his girlfriend's make up - drew on a
mustache and goatee with eyeliner. (I was crying, I was laughing so hard.)
He washed it off with soap and water. Once he drew a face on his belly -
his belly button was the mouth. (Sort of a surprised "OHH!" look,
if you can picture it.) He springs this stuff on me - usually when I'm on
the phone, and cracks me up. So you could use eyeliner or eyeliner pencils
to write you message (or draw a picture) and it would scrub off pretty
easily. Wish I'd thought to do it. Hey the other thing I did do when my
husband had surgery - I took boxes of candy for the pre-op area folks, and
sent a box with my husband when he went back for surgery. The OR folks
don't get the goodies from the grateful patients like the floor nurses (and
we didn't forget them, either!). They surgeon even thanked me for the
candy when he called to let me know the surgery was done and everything was
fine. (My DH was an 11:0AM case, so I bet the candy was lunch!) Kind of a
nice touch.
— koogy
June 10, 2003
Man, I can't BELIEVE how many of you got your undies in a bunch over this!!
Lighten up!! LMAO!!! I think the idea is cute, and who says your sense of
humor has to go out the door because you're having surgery??!! All you
uptight folks crack me up!!! LOL at you!!!
— Cat S.
June 10, 2003
Please don't stop asking questions and sharing with us. We all take a
punch now and then. Some people just haven't found their happy place yet.
— Oldsoul
June 10, 2003
Leslie, when you post a question on an open forum like this you have to be
prepared to receive any type of response, to include those you don't like.
It should not deter you from continuing to come here for support-as you can
see-the positive responses far outweigh the negative, and even the ones
posting negative opinions are entitled to their opinions. I would not even
have bothered to address them, just accept the ones you agree with and move
on. I've posted a question or two in the past where I got blasted, but
thats OK as I asked for opinions and got them. As for this question, I'm
with those that think its a great idea. I wish I had thought of doing so
before my surgery. Humor is a great idea to keep everyone relaxed,
especially you! I also agree a post-it or tape is better than a marker. I
can remember before my gall bladder removal years ago that I asked the OR
nurse, "can we mark the gall bladder with a note that the surgeon
should removed gall bladder only?" Congrats on your upcoming date!
— Cindy R.
June 10, 2003
Cindy, had I asked for opinions that would have been one thing, and yes, I
would have had to take the good with the bad. BUT, I asked for suggestions
and expected those who didn't have one just not to answer, not blast me for
the CONCEPT. Sorry, but I'm still think they were out of line.
— Leslie R.
June 10, 2003
How about "FEED ME Seymore!!" LOL cute Idea. Ive seen a few cute
tattoos in interesting places as an L&D nurse. One was a stop sign
tattooed just below her navel. She kept her hand over it when her mom was
in the room. I told the girl she would have to move her hand so I could
monitor the baby's heartbeat. She just looked at her mom and said "
Sorry mom. It didn't work anyway."
— jenafwife
June 10, 2003
All I can say is my doctor AND my prep nurse wrote on my stomach and stuck
stickers all over me, and I don't see any reason why you shouldn't. Just
make sure whatever you write isn't so big they can't get their notes in
there, too. :)
— ladyphy
June 10, 2003
Dang Nabbit!! I just had surgery last week. Wish this question would have
been posted before I had my surgery!What a great idea!! I sure as heck
would have put something on my stomach!! My surgeon got food poisoning on
June 2nd (my orginal sugery date) so my surgery had to be postponed to June
4th. I probably would have put.....Dr Barker, Got to throw up? Use a trash
can!
— S A.
June 11, 2003
Hi Leslie- I never thought about something like that until reading this
thread. I dunno- how about something like "In case of emergency,
please use REAR exit". LOL Mea :o)
— Mea A.
June 11, 2003
OH MY GOSH!!! What a hysterical idea!! Sure wish I had thought of it before
my surgery. I'll have to give a funny line some thought, but I think this
is such a great idea! I totally appreciate a good sense of humor, and you
certainly sound like you have one. Don't let the nay-sayer's bother you!
Too funny!! Tara
— Tara B.
June 11, 2003
Hi. I remember awhile back someone asked this same question. If I am
correct they choose: Wait. One more twinkie please.
— Cameron Van Winkle
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