Everything for your surgery day - patients & family |
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Patients & Family - Resources for your surgery |
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You can find Additional Information on our web site at: www.siliconvalleysurgery.com |
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Discharge Instructions Following Anesthesia
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Your physician's office will schedule your procedure at Silicon. You do not need to come into Silicon prior to your surgery to pre-register.
If you are considering having your surgery performed at Silicon, the following information will help make your experience with us more comfortable. We ask that you review this web site and call us with any concerns or questions:
Parking
Complimentary parking is available at Silicon. We are located on the main level in Suite 100. Go to the waiting area and the receptionists will assist you through the admitting process.
There are drop off or unloading spaces in the driveway directly in front of the surgery center.
PREPARING FOR THE DAY OF SURGERY
You may receive a preoperative phone call from one of our Registered Nurses 1-4 days before your scheduled surgery. The nurse will review your health history with you and answer any questions you have. If you are having a routine endoscopy, colonoscopy or pain procedure/injection you will not receive a phone call unless you are 65 years or older. If you have not heard from our staff, you may call us at (408) 402-0663 for any questions you need answered prior to your surgery. |
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It is essential to your health and the success of your surgery that you follow these instructions. Please read carefully and ask questions about any instructions you do not understand.
DO NOT EAT OR DRINK ANYTHING 8 HOURS PRIOR TO YOUR SURGERY. This includes water, mints, chewing gum, or lozenges. Your stomach must be completely empty to avoid any anesthesia complications. You should not smoke after midnight the night before surgery.
Call your physician immediately if you develop a cold, cough, fever or skin infection that might interfere with the surgical area.
- Plan to arrive at Silicon one hour prior to your scheduled surgery time unless specifically instructed differently.
- Do not use lotion, oils, or perfume after bathing. Remove nail polish if you are having hand or foot surgery.
- Wear loose, comfortable clothing that can accommodate large dressings and tender surgery sites.
- Wear flat comfortable shoes.
- Leave valuables such as jewelry, watches and money at home (unless you have been contacted to bring a payment). The surgery center cannot be responsible for them during your stay.
- Bring hearing aids, glasses and case, containers for contact lenses and denture case with you.
- Please bring a list of your current medications and dosages with you.
- Arrange for a family member or friend to drive you home because you may experience lightheadedness, dizziness or sleepiness after anesthesia. No surgical patient will be allowed to leave the facility without an accompanying adult. That person may stay at the surgery center or be called when you are ready to go home. We ask to limit the number of people accompanying you to only one or two people and request that you do not bring young children unless they are supervised by a responsible adult.
- For pediatric patients, we ask that a parent remain in the building at all times until the surgery is completed. Once the procedure is completed and the child is awakening in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit, a parent will be allowed to visit their child for comfort measures as appropriate.
- If you receive General Anesthesia, you must have someone stay with you for 24 hours.
- We ask that you and your family no use cell phones in the facility to avoid disrupting other families.
- Be sure to bring your insurance card. If any payment is necessary, bring a check, major credit card or cash to pay your fee.
- If you are a patient under 18 years of age, you must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
DAY OF SURGERY
Registration Desk/Lobby
At the registration desk, the admitting clerk will request your insurance card and make a photocopy of the card for our records. After registering, you will have a seat in the lobby until the nursing staff calls your name to bring you back into the preoperative area.
Admission to Preoperative Unit
You will be escorted to a private area where you will put on a gown, robe and slippers which we provide for you. You may be asked to remove contact lenses, dentures, jewelry, hairpieces and prosthesis before going into the operating room. Your clothes will be stored safely and will be returned when you are ready for discharge.
A nurse will take your vital signs, pulse, temperature, respiration and blood pressure and ask you about your health history including whether you have any allergies. You will initial the site of surgery. The nurse or member of the surgical team will physically mark the area or location of your surgery as a matter of protocol.
The anesthesiologist will meet with your before you go into the operating room. The anesthesiologist will review your medical history, discuss the anesthesia plan, and answer all your questions related to anesthesia. At this time, the anesthesiologist or nurse will gently start an intravenous (IV) line. Should you have eaten prior to surgery, your procedure will be cancelled for another day.
If you are scheduled for a local anesthesia you will not have an anesthesiologist assigned to your case. However, the nursing staff will start an IV line.
You will be asked the same questions by multiple staff members. Certain key questions such as what procedure you will have, what you are allergic to and if you ate any food after midnight are critical to your safety. This redundancy is part of our safety protocols, so please do not be annoyed.
You will be asked to wait in this area until the operating room in which your procedure is scheduled is ready for you. Note that patients are not taken in order of arrival for their surgery; rather, they are scheduled in specific operating rooms that are equipped for the type of surgery scheduled. It is not unusual for a patient who arrives after you to be taken into surgery before you.
Occasionally, unavoidable delays occur. Either an urgent case is put ahead of you or the patients' surgery before you lasted longer than anticipated. We appreciate your understanding when there is a delay.
The Operating Room
When your surgeon and the surgical team are ready for you, you will be escorted to the operating room by a nurse. You will be placed on the operating room table and positioned to ensure comfort and safety.
In the operating room, there are bright lights, instruments, equipment and an appropriately sterile environment. You will find the operating rooms are typically cold but we will offer you a warm blanket if needed. Operating room staff wear face masks when they enter the operating room to maintain a sterile environment. This can be a frightening and scary environment but know that you are in excellent, competent hands. The anesthesiologist will apply the necessary monitoring apparatus so that you will be monitored throughout your procedure.
Anesthesia keeps you free of pain during surgery. It can cause you to lose feeling or sensation during the operation with or without loss of consciousness. Your surgeon and your anesthesiologist will discuss the type of anesthesia which is appropriate for your surgery.
Types of Anesthesia
Local Anesthesia:
You remain awake, but the part of your body that will be operated upon is made numb to pain. This loss of pain sensation is produced by directly injecting the area to be treated with numbing medication.
Monitored Anesthesia Care (MAC)
You will be given pain medication and/or a sedative, in conjunction with a local anesthetic, to keep you comfortable during the procedure. Patients often recover quickly from this type of anesthesia.
Nerve Blocks
Nerve Blocks are a type of regional anesthesia most commonly used to numb a single extremity such as one arm or one leg. You may also receive sedatives and/or pain medications to ease your anxiety. These medications do not cause unconsciousness, but may leave you with little or no memory of the procedure.
General Anesthesia
You are asleep and your whole body is made unaware of pain. It is given by intravenous injection of medications and inhalation of anesthetic gases. You may have a breathing tube during the procedure to help you breathe. It is placed after you are asleep and removed before you awake.
Common Side Effects of Anesthesia
Depending on the type of anesthesia you receive, you may experience a sore throat, mild nausea, headache, drowsiness and or fatigue after your procedure. Some patients do not experience any side effects. Talk to your anesthesiologist about what to expect.
Immediately after your surgery, you will be moved to the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) where you will be carefully monitored by members of the nursing and anesthesia staff, as well as your physician. General recovery time is anywhere from 20 minutes up to a few hours. Your vital signs will be continuously monitored and medications (for relief of pain, anxiety or nausia) may be administered. When you first wake up, you may have an oxygen mask over your nose and mouth and a finger cover which monitors your blood oxygenation.
Your time in the PACU will vary depending on how quickly you feel your pain is controlled and you feel ready to be discharged home with a family or friend. You will be asked to rate your pain on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest. You will be discharged home when you are reasonably comfortable, free of nausea, able to drink small amounts of fluids and possibly tolerate crackers. You will be given pain medications until you feel the pain is controlled enough for discharge.
Your belongings will be returned and the nurse will go over all your discharge instructions. Instructions will focus on wound care, bathing and activity restrictions, diet, follow-up appointment plans, signs to look for and what to report to your physician, and emergency contact information for your physician. You will receive a copy of the discharge instructions for your reference at home. Our staff will escort you to your car. Remember, the quicker you are able to become mobile and return to your home environment, the more successful your recovery from surgery will be.
If you have any questions, we will encourage you to call the surgery center.
Our goal is to return you to your home environment as soon as you meet our discharge criteria. Your recovery from your procedure will be more successful in your home environment.
We recommend that you have a family member or friend stay with you for the first 24 hours after surgery.
Contact your physician's office if you experience any problems or difficulties.
Do not drink any alcoholic beverages for 24 hours following surgery.
Follow your physician's post-operative instructions regarding diet, medications, rest, return visit and return to normal activities.
Most patients will receive a post-op telephone call from a staff member within a day or two to see how you are doing. Please be sure to leave a number where you can be reached.
Do not drive or operate machinery for 24-48 hours following surgery.
MANAGING POST OPERATIVE DISCOMFORT
Most patients experience some discomfort after surgery, depending on the type of surgery performed. Everyone experiences pain differently. We recommend that you speak with your physician prior to surgery about the pain control method that works best for you.
Patients are often comfortable when leaving the surgery center and do not think they will need a prescription pain pill. However, your pain can increase in the post-operative period, so it is important that you fill the prescription for your pain medication.
Sometimes your surgeon may use local anesthesia at the wound site so that you will be fairly comfortable. But when the local anesthesia wears off, later in the day you will want your medications handy. It is much easier to keep your pain under control than try to alleviate it with more medication once you are very uncomfortable.
Take pain relief drugs when pain first begins and take the pain medication as prescribed every 4-6 hours with food to avoid GI upset. Consistant narcotic use every 4 hours will cause constipation. Increase your water, fruit and food fiber consumption. As time goes by, you will find you need less medication and it is easier to keep your pain under control. If you find the pain medication prescribed is not working effectively, call your physician.
Switch to non-narcotic medications when possible. Tylenol and ibuprofen are excellent for pain management and are non-addictive.
Do not drive as long as you are taking narcotic type medications. You should also refrain from any alcohol consumption while on narcotics.
WHEN TO CALL YOUR PHYSICIAN OR SEEK MEDICAL CARE
Your physician or someone covering for your physician is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In an emergency, call 911.
Call your physician for any of the following:
- Temperature of 101 degrees or higher, and/or chills
- Nausea and vomiting that lasts more than 24 hours
- Increasing drowsiness
- Worsening pain not relieved by pain medication
- Increased swelling around the incision
- Redness around the incision that is spreading
- Bright red blood or foul-smelling discharge coming from the wound
INFORMATION FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS
We invite your family to stay at the surgery center while you are having surgery. Our waiting room is equipped with wireless internet coverage so your family members can work while waiting.
We also have patient education materials available that cover many of the surgical procedures performed and will help your family better understand how to care for you.
The waiting room will soon have a computer terminal that guests may use that is geared to specific web sites where health information and educational opportunities are available. The Web sites available are those on our links page.
© 2006 Silicon Valley Surgery Center, LP
An E3 Healthcare Management Affiliated Surgery Center
Healthcare Web Documents by Vital Element, LLC.