One Day before the Operation

Bowel Cleanse

Eating less, changing to a liquid diet, or using enemas or laxatives will empty your colon for surgery. In some cases (ie. for those undergoing a Left Hemicolectomy), you may be asked to complete mechanical bowel preparation with Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) solution.

Studies have shown that bowel prep with PEG solution combined with oral antibiotics the night prior to your surgery leads to lower rates of surgical site infections and overall complications, post-operatively.

If your surgeon recommends bowel preparation for your surgery, please follow these instructions:
Buy these supplies at your pharmacy a few days before your procedure: 1 box of Bi-Peglyte®, (contains 2 pouches of powder, 70 grams each), 1 box of Dulcolax®, 5 milligram tablets (you will need 3 tablets), and antibiotics.

Follow these steps on the day before your procedure:

Taken and modified from How_to_Prepare_Colonoscopy_TWHFHT.pdf (uhn.ca)

[info_list_father connector_h=”10″ listwidth=”0″][info_list_son width=”35″ height=”35″ titleclr=”#000000″ title_weight=”bold” image_id=”5104″ title=”Step 1″]Do not eat any food. Have only clear liquids, starting from when you wake up. For example, only have drinks like water, apple juice, clear soups, or ginger ale. Do not eat Jell-O®. You should also avoid milk, cream, orange juice, tomato juice, grapefruit juice, alcohol or any liquid you cannot see through. You should aim to drink 8 ounces every hour throughout the day.[/info_list_son][info_list_son width=”35″ height=”35″ titleclr=”#000000″ title_weight=”bold” image_id=”5099″ title=”Step 2″]Open the 2 Bi-Peglyte® pouches and add the powder to 2 litres of water. Mix very well until the powder dissolves. Do not add any other ingredients. Put the solution into the refrigerator. This will improve the taste. Use it within 48 hours of mixing. Throw away unused portion.[/info_list_son][info_list_son width=”35″ height=”35″ titleclr=”#000000″ title_weight=”bold” image_id=”5100″ title=”Step 3″]At 10:00 am, take the 3 Dulcolax® tablets with water. Do not crush or chew the tablets. You may or may not have a bowel movement in the next few hours.[/info_list_son][info_list_son width=”35″ height=”35″ titleclr=”#000000″ title_weight=”bold” image_id=”5101″ title=”Step 4″]At 6:00 pm, begin to drink 250 millilitres (about 1 glass) of the solution every 15 minutes. After drinking the first four glasses in the first hour, take a 90 minute break before repeating this process again. You should be done drinking 2 litres of the prep solution by 9:30 pm.[/info_list_son][/info_list_father]

Dietary Changes

You should also take in an additional litre (32 ounces) of clear liquids the evening before your surgery.
Ideally, you may and should continue to drink only clear liquids up until 2 hours before your surgery. Make sure to drink plenty of liquids other than just water, coffee, and tea. This will help make sure that you get enough calories throughout the day before your surgery.