Based on personal experience, advice I got, and info I researched

Dos:

• Bring a circle pillow with a hole in the middle (donut shape). Sit on it on your way home and until you feel like you need to.
• Pack enough HRT to cover extra stay because of possible complications
• Bring your prescription docs, one to show the hospital, but if abroad, it can be useful at border checks
• Obey your nurses, especially about what you can eat and drink
• If you don’t obey them, tell them about what you ate against their advice, fully transparently. If you go unconscious for any reason they need to know.
• Bring wireless headphones, pre-load podcasts, music, movies, etc, for offline playback. They might not have WiFi at all, or might not make it available to patients
• Pre-arrange visits with friends/family, down to the hour and inform the hospital staff so they can expect and direct your visitors
• Take a photo of any paper document you’re given, or need to sign
• Bring a power bar. Your room may have only a single socket for multiple patients. Include a travel adapter if abroad.
• Ask your nurses about getting up and taking a few steps. They’ll do this on their own, but showing that you’re interested in recovery will go a long way towards getting some extra soup or something
• Do try making conversation with your roommate if they seem open to that. Staring at a ceiling is boring as hell and time goes very slow if you can only focus on the pain
• Keep up the dilation regimen. Set timers, alarms, or whatever you need. This is your main objective for the year post-op. Organise everything around your dilation schedule - work, friends, hobbies. Its crucial for getting good results, and slipping from the schedule may cause irreversible depth loss

Don’ts:

• Don’t bring food unless staff approves. Water may be fine, but pointless cause they’ll have that at the hospital
• Under any circumstances, don’t eat anything that fell off your tray or plate. Bacteria in a hospital can mutate to survive strong disinfectants. Not even the 5 second rule applies (it never does but especially not in a hospital)
• Don’t adjust the intravenous stuff. Ask the nurses to do it for you if they hurt or are itchy
• Don’t rush things. You’re gonna be in survival mode during the first few days, where nothing will matter but your comfort. Taking it slow is so worth it
• Don’t judge your results when you get home. Wait at least half a year before starting to consider your result final. Generally it takes a year to 18 months.

Good luck, and hang in there. It’ll be totally worth it to have toughed it out afterwards!

What type of surgery? Are you travelling to another country?