Our goal is to provide an anxiety-free experience for you by removing the uncertainty surrounding your surgery.  By following guidelines here, we can help ensure things run smoothly on the day of your surgery.  

Before day of surgery

Before the day of your scheduled procedure, you should clarify any questions you have about the procedure or the recovery with your surgeon.  You may receive a prescription for pain medication at your preoperative appointment.  If this is the case, we recommend filling that prescription before your scheduled surgery.  

Day before surgery

You will receive a call on the day before your scheduled surgery to confirm the time and location of your procedure.  The pre-procedure department will review the procedures to follow on the day of surgery.  This will include which of your medications you should and should not take on the morning of surgery.  For some surgeries, such as shoulder replacements, you may be given special skin cleaning wipes.  If provided, you should use this as instructed on the day before and morning of your surgery to help reduce the risk of infection.

Day of surgery

Do not eat or drink anything after midnight on the day of your surgery unless otherwise instructed.  Having any food in your stomach can make certain types of anesthesia unsafe.  Eating any solid food or drinking non-clear liquids such as milk or juice with pulp may result in your procedure being rescheduled.  If you are having a procedure done under local anesthesia only, you may be able to eat a normal breakfast on the day of surgery.  If this is the case, please confirm this with your surgeon prior to the day of surgery.

Please remember to bring identification and your insurance card with you to surgery.  You will need someone to give you a ride home after surgery.

After surgery

For outpatient procedures, you should be able to leave the hospital after you have recovered from anesthesia.  How long this takes depends on many factors including the duration and nature of your surgery and may also depend on your other medical problems.  For inpatient procedures, the expected time of hospitalization varies significantly between different surgeries.  Your surgeon can provide you with an estimate.  Before leaving the hospital, your nurse will review your post-operative instructions with you.  

Some pain is to be expected after any surgery, but we want to make sure you remain as comfortable as possible.  Taking your medications as prescribed to help with pain any other associated symptoms.  We also utilize local and regional anesthetics to help reduce discomfort wherever possible.  Some swelling is also common after any surgery, but please call our office if you experience significant swelling, redness, pain, or drainage around your surgical site.  If you experience any acute chest pain or shortness of breath, you should call our clinic immediately or seek care in the emergency department.

You should receive information on a follow-up appointment with your surgeon.  This is typically around two weeks after your surgery.  If you have already had surgery and don’t have a scheduled follow-up appointment, please call our staff so that we can assist you in scheduling this.

If you have any questions about your procedure, please call our office so we can address your concerns.