A safe surgery takes time to prepare for and recover from. When making arrangements for the day of your surgery, you should plan to arrive at the hospital at least two hours before your procedure. Learn more about preparing for your surgery.

You’ll receive a call within one to two business days before your surgery. During this call, we’ll answer any last-minute questions and tell you what time you need to arrive at the hospital for your surgery.

When you arrive, you will need to check-in at the admitting desk. Then, you’ll go to the surgery waiting area and check-in with the receptionist.

You will need someone to give you a ride home, unless you receive local anesthesia. You can’t drive for 24 hours after receiving anesthesia. You will also need a responsible adult to be with you for 24 hours after your surgery.

If you are using public transportation, you must have a responsible adult accompany you. The driver will not take responsibility for you on the ride home if something should happen. Your procedure will be cancelled if you don’t have a driver or responsible adult to accompany you.

3 types of anesthesia

Your anesthesiologist will review the risks of anesthesia with you. There are several minor complications you might experience, including: nausea, vomiting, some bruising, headaches or muscle pain. Keep in mind that it takes at least 24 hours for the drugs to leave your system after your surgery and the effects will gradually wear off with the drug.

Local anesthesia: This type numbs only a small part of your body. It’s typically injected near the site where you will have surgery and is most commonly used for simple procedures, such as removing a skin growth or stitching a cut.

Regional anesthesia: This type numbs a larger area of your body and is used for more extensive procedures. There are three types of regional anesthesia, which numb the lower part of your body for surgeries such as leg, prostate or bladder.

  • Spinal anesthesia is administered directly into the fluid-filled space around your spinal cord.
  • Epidural anesthesia is injected just outside of the spinal fluid. With epidural anesthesia, a thin tube may be left at the site of injection to treat pain for several days after your surgery.
  • A femoral nerve block is another form of regional anesthesia. A local anesthetic is applied to the femoral nerve (the largest nerve in your leg) through a catheter (a thin tube) to numb the thigh and leg during surgery.

General anesthesia: This type of anesthesia is given by inhaling an anesthetic from a face mask, from your IV or a combination of the two. This type of anesthesia places you in a state of controlled unconsciousness and will prevent you from remembering your surgery. Once you are asleep, a breathing tube may be inserted in your throat to help control your breathing during surgery.

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