Preparing for Surgery

Scheduling

Your physician has scheduled a date and time for your surgery. Sometimes, due to various factors, such as an unexpected emergency surgery, your scheduled procedure time may change. If a foreseeable change is needed, we will contact you the day prior to your original appointment.

Insurance Pre-certification

Insurance companies usually require that non-emergency operations be approved in advance. EIRMC will attempt to pre-certify you for your surgery. For your protection, however, you should double-check with your surgeon’s office or your insurance carrier(s) to make sure approval has been granted.

For help in pre-certification, call the Admissions Department at 529-6105.

If you do not have health insurance or other financial assistance, please call or visit our Patient Access Department. Financial counselors are available at the following phone numbers: 529-6117, -6108, -6118, and -6098. They are located on the 1^st floor just off the Front Lobby.

Registration

It is helpful if you can complete registration information at least 7 –10 days before your surgery. This ensures that all approvals are confirmed and information is complete and accurate.

The easiest and most convenient way to register is through our online Pre-Registration system. If you wish, you may also instead choose to call 529-6232 or 529-6238, or visit our Admissions office. Please be prepared to give the following information:

Your legal name
Your date of birth
Date of surgery
Mailing address and home phone number, including area code
Name of primary-care doctor
Your employer and work phone numbers
Name and ID numbers of your insurance policy holder
Insurance claims address and member service phone number

Pre-Admission Screening

A registered nurse from our Admissions Department will call you before your surgery to gather important details about your medical history. These details are essential to a safe and effective surgery. This interview will typically happen 1 – 14 days before your surgery. The nurse may ask you about current medical conditions, previous surgeries, and results of recent tests. The nurse will also discuss any testing that you must do before your surgery and help set up an appointment for you. These tests can be done at our Pre-Admissions Testing Clinic before the day of your surgery.

Pre-Admissions Testing

We strongly encourage you to visit our Pre-Admissions Testing (PAT) Clinic before the day of your surgery. Here, you can streamline tests, information, and instructions to help you prepare for surgery. If you have any questions, please contact PAT at 529-7200. Examples of tests given at the PAT Clinic include:

Blood work ordered
EKG, if you are at least 45 years old or if you have a history of heart problems
X-rays ordered by your physician or anesthesiologist

You can also help us prepare for your surgery by bringing important information with you:

Medications to be taken or omitted prior to your surgery.
Forms given to you by your physician’s office, including Physician’s Orders, “Consent to Operation” form, and “History & Physical” form.
A list of your current medications, dosages, and schedules. This includes both prescription and overthe-counter drugs, herbals, vitamins, and dietary supplements.
Copies or reports of any pre-op lab tests, EKGs, or X-rays completed in a doctor’s office or other healthcare facility. You may also have these test results faxed to us at (208) 529-7023.
List of all known allergies (for example, medications, foods, x-ray contrast material, iodine, latex, tape).
Dates of last tetanus, flu, or pneumonia shots.
Copies of your living will, durable healthcare power of attorney, and advance directives.
Your medical history, dates of previous surgeries, and hospitalizations.

If you can’t visit the PAT Clinic, please bring the above items to the hospital on the morning of your surgery, and be prepared to take any necessary tests that morning.

Informed Consent

Before you may have surgery, we must verify that you understand the planned operation and its possible risks and complications, and that other possible (including non-surgical) options may be available. This is known as “informed consent.” Please don’t hesitate to ask questions about anything you don’t understand about your planned surgery.

Restrictions on Food and Drink

It is very important that you not eat or drink before surgery. An empty stomach will keep you from “breathing in” food or drink when you receive anesthesia. These no-eating-or-drinking guidelines are known in medicine as “NPO,” which is short for “nothing by mouth.” Your surgeon or office staff will give you special instructions about when you should stop eating and drinking before your surgery.

Other Preparations

Our PAT Clinic will call you after 4 p.m. the day before your scheduled surgery to instruct you on your arrival and surgical times.

If you take aspirin or warfarin (brand name Coumadin) daily, you must talk with your physician before discontinuing the medication.

Please contact your surgeon and the PAT Clinic (529-7200) immediately if you are experiencing any changes in your health such as a cold, flu, or chest pain; or you’ve been in an emergency or accident; or if you cannot keep your scheduled surgery appointment for any reason.

You may NOT drive yourself home after your surgery, so please arrange for a responsible adult to take you home. It is best to have someone stay with you after you arrive home, or at least have someone available by phone.

Anesthesia

Anesthesia is the medicine you will receive to put you into a deep sleep for your operation. You won’t feel pain and you won’t remember the surgery.

The type of anesthesia you will get depends on the kind of surgery you’ll be having, as well as other factors such as your overall health and age. Types include:

General Anesthesia. This puts you to sleep throughout the surgery.
Monitored Anesthesia. This makes you comfortable during the surgery. It is often given in addition to local anesthesia.
Local Anesthesia. This numbs only the area being operated on and allows you to be awake during the procedure.
Spinal Anesthesia. This numbs the lower part of your body. This area can remain numb for several hours. Don’t be alarmed, though! The nurses will check you often to make sure that the numbness has worn off. They will make sure the numbness is gone before you get up.

Pain Management

For years, patients thought that pain was something they “just had to put up with.” But with current treatments, that is no longer true. Today, you can work with nurses and doctors to prevent or relieve pain. Our staff at EIRMC practices the latest methods for preventing and managing pain.

Before your surgery, ask your doctor or nurse what to expect. You might ask:

Will there be much pain afterwards?
Where will the pain occur?
How long is the pain likely to last?

Being prepared will help put you in control. When your pain is controlled, you get many benefits:

Enjoy greater comfort while you heal.
Start walking and doing breathing exercises so that you can get your strength back faster.
Feel better sooner after surgery.
Avoid such problems as blood clots and pneumonia.
Leave the hospital sooner.

We want you to ask for pain relief before pain becomes a problem. Talk to your doctor or nurse about pain-relief options and help them assess your pain. Tell them if your pain is not relieved and if you have worries about taking pain medication. Both drug and non-drug treatments can be successful in helping prevent and control pain. You, your doctor, and your nurse will decide which one(s) are right for you.