Day Of Surgery

What to bring with you

The staff at your surgery center or hospital will contact you in the days prior to review your history and your scheduled surgery. They’ll also provide you with information about what to bring with you. Among the most important items are:

• Your Drivers License or Government Issued ID
• Your insurance information
• Comfortable clothing
• Slings, braces, or ice machines that your surgeon may have provided you
• Rescue inhalers (if you’re asthmatic)

Your procedural runway

After check-in, you’ll be welcomed into the pre-operative area. In pre-op, you will first meet your pre-operative nurse, who will review your health history, scheduled procedure, and answer any questions you may have. The pre-operative team will help you change into a comfortable procedural gown and will place your peripheral IV.

Once your pre-operative nurse has prepared you, you will have time to meet with your surgeon, your anesthesiologist, and your OR nurse.

Let’s all succeed

Depending on the procedure that you are undergoing, your experience in the OR may be a bit of a blur. For most, the OR is a confusing place filled with odd equipment and bright lights. Rest assured, this is where we succeed. Here, your OR team will be hard at work to deliver you to a stellar outcome. Once in the OR, we’ll have you move over to the OR bed, where your anesthesiologist will get you comfortable and prepare you for the type of anesthesia that you consented to in pre-op. [maybe link this to the types of anesthesia page] After you’re comfortable, your OR team will do several safety checks before starting your procedure. Once we the procedure is safely concluded, your anesthesiologist and OR nurse will transport you to the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) where you will recover from anesthesia.

Finish strong

Once you’re safely in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit, your PACU nurse will be focused on making sure that you recover from the anesthesia that you’ve been given. Once you’ve recovered, we’ll make sure that any post-operative pain that you are experiencing is managed appropriately. Your nurse will be communicating with you and your responsible caretaker to make sure that all of your post-operative instructions are understood and that you have a plan should things take a turn once you’re home.

From here, your recovery starts in earnest. At home, take it easy for the next 24 hours. You need to be up and moving, but don’t overdo it. If your surgeon has provided you with activity limitations, stick to them — don’t be the guy who doesn’t think the rules apply, those are the ones we see back later. Be honest with yourself about pain control and stay on top of it. Eat what you’d like, but try to stick to a balanced diet with plenty of fresh food.