No Overnight Stays Needed
What is an Outpatient Surgery?
With technology and new innovations in medicine, surgeons no longer have to perform surgeries in hospitals. This is a big deal in modern medicine for patients, meaning that now patients do not have to stay in a hospital after their surgery. Outpatient surgery is performed in a surgery center. With these new innovations, over 53% of surgeries are now performed in an outpatient surgery center.
What are the benefits of doing surgery in an Outpatient Surgery Center?
The biggest benefit of doing your spine surgery or orthopedic surgery in an outpatient surgery center is the convenience. Without having to stay over night at a hospital and going home the same day patients have reduced stress. Patient’s family members also do not have to be uncomfortable in a hospital setting waiting all night. At hospitals there are almost always medical emergencies and your surgery may be delayed for long periods of time due to the medical emergencies that come in. At an outpatient surgery center, you do not have to worry about any of those stresses. The surgery scheduling coordinator will give you a time that is scheduled and that is the time you will be prepped for surgery.
The lower costs of having your surgery done in an outpatient setting is also important. No hospital stays will be charged and generally you will pay less.
Things to Consider Before Arriving at the Surgery Center
- Most importantly, do not eat or drink before the procedure. Vomiting can occur when you are under anesthesia. This can cause lung problems.
- Instructions given to you by your nurse or doctor should say to stop taking certain medications several days prior to the surgery.
- Remove all makeup, piercings, and jewelry from your body
- Arrange transportation from a loved one or a friend to drive you home
What Happens at the Outpatient Surgery Center
The surgery will not happen right away. The nurses will need to prepare you prior to the surgery. Generally, you will be asked to arrive 1-2 hours prior to your surgery time in order to check in and have an IV.
The staff will then guide you to the operating room and you will have monitors placed on you. This is to monitor your heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen level. General anesthesia will be administered by an anesthesiologist and the procedure will start.
During the Surgery
Depending on the surgery, patients will be position either on their back, side, or stomach. Medication will be given to control heart rate and blood pressure. Patients will not feel anything during the surgery due to the anesthesia. Depending on what surgery is being done, generally surgeries at Florida Surgery Consultants average around 60 minutes.
After the surgery is completed, patients will be taken into the recovery room where he or she will awaken from the sedation. This can take one hour. The nurses will also monitor your vital signs to check if everything is okay.
Home
Before you can be released to go home, the nurses must check your vital signs, see if you can eat, see if you can urinate, and walk without assistance. They will also ask for someone to monitor you for the first 24 hours to make sure there are no problems.
The outpatient surgery is as simple as that. There will no hospital stays needed and patients will have less stress along with their loved ones. All our procedures are done in an outpatient surgery center, so the information in this page goes for all of our surgeries.
