Outpatient

Find your general surgeon

If you need surgical care, you may not need to stay in the hospital overnight. Today many of our surgical options allow you to return home to recover.

What is outpatient surgery?

Outpatient surgery is also called ambulatory or same-day surgery. Whatever your doctor calls it, the surgery allows you to return home on the same day that we performed it.

Outpatient surgery is best suited for healthy people undergoing low- to medium-risk procedures. Yet thanks to ongoing technical advances, people with more complex medical problems have also had success with outpatient surgery.

Outpatient surgery has grown in popularity over the past three decades. Some of the popularity is due to advances in medical instruments and techniques. But most of the popularity is because you like to recover at home, where you feel the most comfortable.

Services available

We are pleased to offer outpatient surgeries close to home. Our skilled providers and staff focus on making your experience as comfortable, efficient, and convenient as possible.

Utilizing the latest technology and techniques, our outpatient services include:

Colonoscopy
Laparoscopic gallbladder removal
Minimally-invasive biopsies and other diagnostic procedures

Preparing for your procedure

After your provider has recommended an outpatient procedure, you will need to meet with your surgeon to review your specific condition. This pre-meeting allows for discussion about you, your preferences and the surgeon’s techniques. This meeting also allows you to ask questions you have about your upcoming surgery.

At this visit, we may ask for:

Copies of your medical records, especially heart or lung test results
Copies of recent lab tests
A list of medical problems and past surgical procedures
A complete list of medications, including prescription, over-the-counter, vitamins, supplements, and the dosage you are taking

Often you meet your anesthesiologist on the day of your surgery. Some anesthesiologists prefer to meet with you earlier. The pre-meeting can either be in person or it might be a simple introduction telephone call. Your anesthesiologist plays an important role in preparing you for surgery. This is very true if your procedure is more complex due to any existing medical conditions. During this pre-surgery evaluation, you can expect:

To review your medical information
Have a quick physical examination
Discuss your anesthetic plan
Have a Question-Answer time so you can get all your questions asked

Pre-surgery instructions

You cannot have anything to eat or drink 8 hours before your surgery. This restriction includes all liquids, including water and coffee, all food, chewing tobacco, gum, and candy. This is for your own safety. An empty stomach reduces your risk of vomiting or breathing your stomach contents into your lungs during your procedure.
You must arrange for a responsible adult to take you home and stay with you until the next day.
We will ask for a list of all prescription and over-the-counter medications you take. This includes vitamins and herbs. We need the name, dosage and frequency, and why you take each medication. Please do not bring medications with you.
You should take your usual morning blood pressure and heart medications with a sip of water.
You can take you pain pills with a sip of water.
You have the right to expect appropriate pain control. We will strive to keep you as comfortable as safely possible. We will be asking you to score your pain (zero-10) so that we, including you, know how your medication is working. Your doctor will write a prescription for pain pills that you will be using at home. You will need to buy your pain pills at your pharmacy of choice.
If you are having surgery on your hand or arm, please remove acrylic nails and nail polish. If you are having surgery on your foot or ankle, please remove nail polish from that foot. This is necessary to check your circulation during and after surgery.
If you wear contact lenses, bring a container for the lenses or wear your glasses on the day of your procedure.
You may want to bring pillows or blankets for your trip home.
If you develop a cold, persistent cough, fever, or any other health related problems, please notify your physician as soon as possible.
A financial counselor will be available to you before the day of your procedure. The intent is to reduce your financial worries during your recovery time. The counselor will determine:
- The estimated charges for your procedure
- Your payment options
- The payment expectations
Before your procedure, we will need a copy of your insurance cards and photo ID. We accept co-pay/deductible payments by credit card, check or cash. You can also make payment arrangements with our financial counselors.
You are responsible for any personal belongings you bring. We encourage you to leave valuables at home. Please remove all jewelry, including all body piercing jewelry. We will be sending your belongings with those accompanying you.

Preoperative activities

We will give you specific instructions on what time you need to arrive. Often we'll ask you to come 1-2 hours before your scheduled surgery time. Arriving early allows time for checking in, getting your IV placed, as well as giving you medications, like antibiotics. We call these activities preoperative. They will take place in a specifically designed preoperative area.

When it is your surgery time, you will go to the operating room (OR). We will transport you to the OR in a wheelchair or gurney. This often depends on the type of medications we gave you for your procedure. Once in the operating room, you will lie down on the operating bed. We will place anesthesia and heart monitors on your chest as well as a blood pressure cuff on your arm. We monitor your oxygen levels through a detector clipped to your finger. If you need oxygen for your procedure, we place a face mask or nasal tube will on your face.

The anesthesiologist will then begin your sedation. Once you are fully sedated, your surgeon will begin your procedure.

Learn more about surgical anesthesia.

Postoperative

When your surgery is complete, your provider and team will stop sedation medications. Then they move you to a recovery room. It is here that specialized post-surgery staff will watch you. As you awaken, care teams will check your comfort levels for pain, oxygen levels, nausea, vomiting, chills, and low or high blood pressure. Recovery and awakening fully from sedation can take from one hour to several hours.

Going home

To keep you healthy and safe after your procedure, we have strict discharge criteria. These criteria may include the following:

Stable vital signs
Minimum nausea and vomiting (ensuring you can take, and keep down, all necessary oral medications)
Be able to empty bladder
Walk unassisted

You must arrange for a responsible adult to take you home and stay with you for 24 hours. Additionally, we make sure you have your discharge instructions. These are notes from your doctor that instruct you on care after you leave the hospital. These instructions can include details on the following: