Surgery Info
Please review the entire subject at least 4 weeks prior to surgery.
preoperative instructions
the day of surgery
post operative instructions
cast care instructions
Preoperative Instructions
Planning for Surgery
Surgery of any kind is an important part of your life. Hand surgery will disrupt
your usual activity and advance planning will help. Planning for surgery will start with a
visit to your Hand Surgical Associates physician. You and your physician will discuss the
indications for surgery, the alternatives, the expected results and a possible date for
surgery. The surgical booking coordinator in our office will work with you to find the
appropriate date and time. Prior to surgery you will have to have a history and physical
examination performed by one of our physicians, physician assistants or nurse
practitioners. A consent will have to be signed.
Preadmission Screening
A Preadmission screening (PAS) appointment will be scheduled. This is a visit to
the hospital where your surgery will be preformed. PAS is designed to allow appropriate
medical evaluation prior to your surgery. You will meet with staff from the nursing and
anesthesia departments. A history and physical examination may be performed. Blood work
and x-rays and a cardiogram will be performed as indicated. PAS is a very important part
of your surgery and should be treated as such. It will help ensure a safe and efficient
day of surgery and help avoid delays.
Your prescreening appointment will usually be scheduled 3- 30 business days prior to
surgery. Please bring all insurance information to PAS. Please bring a list of all your
medications, previous surgical procedures and all medical problems. If you have had
significant medical problems please bring your medical records with you i.e. EKG,
echocardiograms, stress tests, angiograms etc. Please have the names, addresses and phone
numbers of your primary care physician and previous specialists involved in your medical
care.
Please allow a minimum of 2 to 4 hours for PAS. We recommend you do not schedule other
commitments on the day of PAS. If you are under 18 years old, a parent or legal guardian
must accompany you.
If you are 80 years of age or older, you may need to be scheduled for an appointment to
see a cardiologist. The staff of PAS, your surgeon or your primary care physician can
arrange this. Written documentation of the consultation is required at least 3 business
days prior to surgery.
If you are over 90 years of age and your surgery is at the NEBH you may need to
schedule a second opinion prior to surgery. Please discuss this with your surgeon.
Please check with the prescreening office at the hospital where your surgery will be
performed with any questions.
Medications to Avoid
Please review you PAS material for a more complete list. All aspirin
products must be stopped a week prior to surgery. If you are taking aspirin as a
blood thinner prescribed by your physician please check with him or her. If for some
reason you cannot stop taking aspirin please let us know immediately, your surgery may
have to be postponed. NSAI (Motrin type medications) should be
stopped 5 days prior to surgery. Cox II inhibitors (i.e. Vioxx,
Celebrex, etc) should be discontinued 48 to 72 hours prior to surgery. Let us know
if this is a problem.
If you are taking coumadin the dose will have to be modified and the
prescribing physician should inform you how to do this. Please let your HSA
physician know the plan. Your INR and PT will be checked the morning of the surgery
and if not within a reasonable range, your surgery will have to be postponed. If
your physician feels you cannot decrease your coumadin dose, let us know immediately.
Special arrangements may have to be made and your surgery postponed.
Insulin and other hypoglycemic medications should be held the morning of surgery unless
specifically directed by your HSA physician or the PAS staff,
Herbal medications should be discontinued two to three weeks prior to surgery.
Diet medicines for weight loss should be stopped two weeks prior to surgery by the
physician who prescribed it. Vitamins and other supplements should be held the day
of your surgery. |
