Information for Patients: Preparing for Anesthesia and Surgery

What to Expect if You Are Going Home on the Day of Surgery

Once you have been discharged from the PACU you will either be admitted to an inpatient bed or return to the area that will discharge you to home. Discharge from this area is at the discretion of the surgeon in conjunction with the anesthesia provider. Before leaving you will receive verbal as well as corresponding written instructions. Included in this information will be general instructions regarding diet, medications, bathing and activity restrictions, as well as those specific to your procedure. A member of the nursing staff will telephone you a day after your surgery or on the next business day to follow your progress and to assist you and your family with whatever questions that may arise. An emergency contact number for your doctor should be given to you in the event care is needed before the nurse’s follow up telephone call. Home readiness rather than street fitness is the goal of ambulatory surgery. This means that you are ready for discharge to home for further recuperation. You should not resume normal recreational or professional activities immediately. Follow your physician’s instructions.

• Pre-anesthetic Interview/Testing
• What to Expect on the Day of Surgery
• Preoperative Holding Area
• What to Expect in the Operating Room
• What to Expect in the Postanesthesia Care Unit
• Admission to a Facility
• Outpatient Surgery
• What to Expect if You Are Going Home on the Day of Surgery
• Pain Management