Once your physician has scheduled your surgery, you will receive a phone call from our surgical coordinator. She will assist you in scheduling a pre-admission testing appointment, during which arrangements will be made for any special lab tests, x-rays, or other tests your physician has ordered. Any necessary paperwork will also be completed at this time. The nurse anesthetist will meet with you to make plans for your anesthesia, and the surgical coordinator will spend time with you, explaining what will happen on the day of your surgery. She will go over specific instructions for your operation, what time to arrive and where to go, and provide assistance, if needed, for someone drive you to and from the hospital.
Please arrive at the hospital at the time you are scheduled. The admitting nurse will greet you and prepare you for your operation. Your blood pressure and temperature will be checked and any other specific treatment ordered by your physician will be done. While you are in the operating room, family and friends may wait in our waiting area or in the hospital cafeteria.
For children having surgery, we offer the opportunity for one of the parents to stay with their child while the child goes off to sleep. This option can be discussed with the nurse anesthetist during the pre-admission appointment. Children who need to stay in the hospital overnight may have a parent spend the night with them.