You may receive surgery instructions from several places: your surgeon’s office, the hospital or surgery center, your anesthesia team, a pre-op clinic, your primary care doctor or another specialist.
Most of the time, those instructions fit together.
But what if they don’t?
Maybe one sheet says not to eat or drink after midnight, while another says clear liquids are allowed later. One clinician told you to stop a medication, while another told you not to. Or your arrival time changed, but an older message says something different.
If your surgery instructions conflict, don’t guess which one is right. The safest next step is to identify the exact conflict and contact your surgical team or the contact listed in your pre-op instructions for clarification.
This is especially important when the conflict involves fasting, medications, anesthesia or another instruction that could affect whether your procedure can safely go ahead.
Surgery preparation often involves more than one healthcare team.
You might hear from:
Those teams may be addressing different parts of your care.
Instructions can also change based on your procedure, anesthesia plan, medical history, medications or facility protocols.
That means two instructions that look different are not necessarily contradictory.
The problem is that you may not have enough information to know why they are different.
That is why it is usually better to clarify a genuine conflict than to decide for yourself which instruction should take priority.
Before calling, put the two instructions next to each other.
Check:
Sometimes the apparent contradiction disappears once you identify what each instruction is referring to.
If they still conflict, that is the question to take back to your care team.
Fasting instructions are a particularly important conflict to resolve.
You may encounter general advice online or even paperwork that says not to eat or drink after midnight, while another instruction allows certain clear liquids closer to surgery.
Do not try to combine the instructions or choose a fasting cutoff yourself.
Your fasting instructions may depend on your procedure, anesthesia plan and individual circumstances.
If two sets of instructions give you different times for when to stop eating or drinking, contact the surgical or anesthesia team using the number provided in your pre-op materials and ask:
“I have two different fasting instructions. One says ___ and the other says ___. Which one applies to my surgery?”
If you have already eaten or drunk something outside the instructions you were given, tell the team exactly what you had and when rather than trying to determine on your own whether your surgery can proceed.
Medication conflicts also deserve clarification rather than guesswork.
For example, you might receive different instructions about:
Do not stop, restart, reduce or take an important medication simply because two pieces of paperwork disagree.
Instead, tell the surgical team:
the exact medication name, dose, how often you take it and the two different instructions you received.
It can also help to tell them who normally manages that medication.
Some medication decisions before surgery depend on balancing different risks, which is one reason generic instructions may not answer the question for your particular situation.
Timing creates another common source of confusion.
Your arrival time is not necessarily your surgery time.
You may be asked to arrive well before the planned procedure so there is time for check-in, preparation, changing clothes, an IV, conversations with your care team and other preoperative steps.
Surgery schedules can also change.
If you have received two different arrival times, check whether one message is newer. If you still aren't certain which time applies, call the facility or surgical team rather than assuming.
And if you're wondering why you still don't have a firm procedure time, Why Don’t I Know My Surgery Time Yet? explains why surgery schedules can remain uncertain until close to the procedure.
Start with the contact information your surgical team or facility gave you for preoperative questions.
Depending on how your surgery is organized, that may be:
You don't necessarily need to figure out which healthcare professional is ultimately responsible for the discrepancy before calling.
You can simply explain:
“I’m scheduled for surgery on [date], and I received two different instructions about [fasting/medication/arrival time]. I want to make sure I follow the correct one. Who can confirm which instruction applies?”
If the first person you reach cannot answer the question, ask who can.
Make it easy for the team to see the conflict.
Have available:
Then ask for a specific answer.
Instead of:
“What am I supposed to do before surgery?”
try:
“This instruction says I can drink clear liquids until 6 a.m., but this other instruction says nothing after midnight. Which instruction applies to me?”
Specific questions make the discrepancy easier to resolve.
Once someone confirms what you should do, write it down.
Record:
If the clarification came by phone and you are still uncertain, you can repeat it back:
“Just to make sure I understood correctly, you want me to ___?”
You can also ask whether updated written instructions are available through your patient portal or another communication channel.
The goal isn't to create your own hierarchy of medical instructions.
It's to leave the conversation knowing exactly what applies to your surgery.
After surgery, you may also be wondering What If I Don’t Understand My Discharge Instructions After Surgery?
Preparing for surgery involves a lot of small but important steps. Download the free SurgiNav Surgery Prep Checklist to stay organized and feel more confident before your procedure.
If your surgery instructions conflict, don't guess which instruction wins.
First, check whether the difference can be explained by the date, procedure, facility or purpose of the instructions.
If the conflict remains—especially if it involves fasting, medications or anesthesia—contact your surgical team or designated pre-op contact and ask which instruction applies specifically to you.
Have both instructions available, describe the conflict precisely and write down the answer.
Sometimes navigating surgery isn't about finding more information.
It's about knowing who can resolve the information you already have.
Preparing for surgery can feel overwhelming, but you don't have to remember every detail on your own. Download the free SurgiNav Surgery Prep Checklist to stay organized, avoid common mistakes, and feel more confident before surgery day.
Download the Free Surgery Prep ChecklistThis article provides general educational information and is not a substitute for medical advice. Always follow the instructions provided by your healthcare team.
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Educational information only. Always follow your surgeon's instructions.