We understand you may be just as concerned or anxious about your recovery period as you were prior to surgery. This information is provided to help you understand some of the things you may experience after your surgery. You will be taken to a recovery room and patient visitation will be limited to provide optimal patient care and confidentiality. Our team will keep family and friends in the waiting area informed of the patient's progress.
What you should DO AFTER your surgery
Follow your post-operative instructions given to you at the surgery center.Your post-operative instructions are provided to facilitate your recovery process.
Do not drink alcoholic beverages for 24 hours. For your own safety, do not drink alcoholic beverages for 24 hours after receiving a general anesthetic or while taking oral pain medications.
Do not operate equipment or sign important papers for 24 hours. It is normal to feel drowsy after anesthesia. We recommend that you avoid driving, operating equipment or signing important documents for 24 hours after your surgery.
Following your surgery. You will receive a follow up phone call from one of our nurses, however please call us if you have any questions. In case of an emergency, please call 911. If you need to reach your physician after business hours, please call 478-953-4563. There is a physician on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
What you should EXPECT AFTER your surgery
The nurses in our fully equipped recovery room will monitor you. After your surgery is complete, you will be moved to the recovery room where our nurses will monitor your recovery progress. During this time the anesthesia provider and your surgeon will also check on you.
Your surgeon will speak to your family/friends waiting on you. With your permission, your surgeon will inform your family/friends of your status and the outcome of the procedure.
Your family may join you in the recovery room. After your initial stage of recovery, our staff will escort your family into the recovery room. You will still be sleepy, but you may want the comfort of a familiar face.
Information on controlling your pain. Our goal is to control your pain and make you comfortable. We will monitor your pain and give you medication as needed. The nurse will ask you to rate your pain on a scale of 1-10. One being the least amount of pain and 10 being the most. This will help the nurses determine how much medication to give you. Pain medication can be given in pill form, by injection, or intravenously.
You will be given detailed post-operative instructions before you go home. Your recovery care nurse will provide you and your family member post-operative instructions regarding diet, rest, exercises, dressing changes and medications. She will answer any questions you or your family may have in regards to your post-operative care. In the event of any difficulty, call your surgeon or his/her answering service.