What to Expect the Day of Surgery

Your visit at Piedmont Outpatient Surgery will start with our admitting area. In this area you will check in with our scheduler, who will verify who you are, who your surgeon is and what procedure you or your child is having. You will fill out the necessary paperwork and give back to the scheduler. If insurance still needs to be verified, or a payment needs to be made, this will happen at this time as well.

Once all of these things are completed the pre-operative area will be made aware that you are ready. Please keep in mind that there is more than one operating room and more than one surgeon, therefore you may not be called back to the pre-operative area in the order that you arrived to the facility.

Next you or you and your child will be taken to the pre-op area. Children are allowed to have both parents or a parent and one other family member with them to the pre-op area at this time. Other family will be allowed to visit once the nurse has gotten the patient ready. A maximum of two people are allowed in the pre-operative area. Anyone over the age of 18 and legally competent will be taken to the pre-op area alone. Once the patient is ready up to two family members will be allowed to visit. This is done because the pre-op area is small and open and we want to ensure as much privacy for our patients as possible.

While in pre-op the nurse will fill out additional paperwork. You will meet with the anesthesiologist, and surgeon. This is a good time to ask questions if you have any after your last office visit. This is also when any medications will be given and IVs started (if needed for the procedure).

Prior to going to the operating room an operating room nurse and a certified nurse anesthetist will meet with you in pre-op and verify some information and answer any questions you may have for them. Children are either carried to the operating room by a staff member or they will be pushed on a stretcher. Parents are not allowed to go with their children to the OR, but will be updated periodically while in the surgical waiting room.

Once the surgery is over the surgeon will speak to you or your family member. They will answer any questions and briefly go over any discharge instructions. Once the patient is in the recovery room it may be several minutes before the family is allowed to visit. Our patient’s safety and comfort is our first priority so it may seem like a long time from the time the surgeon meets with you until you are taken to the recovery room to visit with your loved one. While in the recovery room you or your child will have vital signs monitored, you will be given something to drink and pain medications may be given as needed. Once our anesthesiologist determines that you are ready to go home we will go over your discharge instructions and answer any questions you may have. We will call you the next business day to see how you are recovering so please make sure that we have a correct number where you can be reached.