@jmjm What surgery is it for?
Luckily if it's o-1 it's unlikely that you will accidentally get pregnant and have to cancel the surgery (assuming you need the surgery, and it's not baby-related). I know for my excision surgery, fill and spill AND hysteroscopy I was hoping that I was pregnant and could just skip it all.
that didn't work.
I personally wouldn't be super concerned abut delaying your cycle. Though, I guess preventing can be really annoying. I think my husband and I held off for like 3 days before (I was on HBC, which makes the "I hope I am pregnant" thought even sillier).
Also, heads up. Even if you delayed your period, had your surgery and then ovulated after surgery, I was told I had to hold off from having anything enter my vagina for 2 weeks. Again, I don't know what kind of surgery it is, and I wasn't sure if that was from the fill and spill, the hysterocopy or because of the laparoscopy, so you may have to avoid that entire cycle anyway. Again, I have no idea what your surgery is. I think for me it was because they used blue dye since I wasn't getting a normal HSG and they wanted me to wait to shed that lining.
But after my surgery, I had a really great solid period that was bright red blood (I normally have very light periods) and again, that was even on HBC. It felt really good to feel like I have a nice fresh lining. Lol. I'm always trying to look on the bright side!
Maybe talk to your doctor or the clinic nurses and ask if there are usually any requirements about holding off on vaginal penetration after surgery? Or when you can start trying again? Because if you CAN just hold off your period by a week and you're allowed to try for a pregnancy, then it would be totally worth it in my opinion, to do so. But if you hold off your period only to have to avoid sex for two weeks, that would be really frustrating since that cycle would be a bust no matter how you slice it.
Sorry this wall of text doesn't really give answers at all.