Preparing for Surgery
Your Surgery and Hospital Stay
Prior to Admission
Your surgeon and or primary care physician may require pre-operative testing; lab work, EKG and chest x-ray. These tests will need to be completed 3-7 days prior to your surgery. You will receive a call from our pre-admission department to discuss your insurance coverage and financial obligations. If you have any questions regarding your surgery, please contact your surgeon's office. If you notice a change in your condition, the day before your surgery, i.e.; fever, cold, cough, flu-like symptoms, please contact your surgeon's office immediately.
Just Before Surgery
Nursing staff will conduct a brief health interview with you. You will be asked to change into a hospital gown.
During Surgery
You will be escorted to the pre-operative suites by an attendant. There you will meet your anesthesiologist, who will be able to answer any questions you may have at that time. Your family or friends will be shown to the lounge area. We will update them on the progress of your procedure.
After Surgery
You will wake up in the Recovery Room. A nurse will be at your side. You may feel somewhat confused, disoriented, or cold. You may have intravenous (IV) fluids and be attached to oxygen and monitors. The IV fluid keeps you hydrated and provides a route for medication if you need it. The oxygen helps you wake up, and the monitors help the staff evaluate how you are doing. The nurse will watch you closely and explain things and reassure you until you are completely awake. You will then be taken from the Recovery Room to the appropriate nursing unit for further care until discharge. We will contact your family or friends (that you have given your approval for release of information), they can stay with you until your doctor determines you can be discharged. Before you are discharge your nurse will give you instructions on how to care for yourself.
Post Discharge
Please call your surgeon's office for a follow-up appointment. If a question or concern comes up after you have left the hospital, please call your surgeon or primary physician. If it is a matter which is life-threatening, please call 911 immediately.
You will be receiving a Patient Satisfaction Survey in the mail. Please take a few minutes to tell us how we did. Thank you for choosing Olympia Medical Center as your provider of care.
To contact the Perioperative Services Coordinator at Olympia Medical Center please call: 323.932.5085 or the Outpatient Surgery Nurses Station 323.932.5350
Love, compassion, and tenderness…
is the oldest medicine in the world, and a cornerstone in Olympia Hospital’s Surgical Services where concern and expertise extends beyond the patient to family members and loved ones. Individuality, dignity, and respect are the focus of our team as we work together to achieve the highest quality of life possible for each individual.
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