What to Expect the Day of Surgery

At the UC Medical Center (UCMC):

Parking and Checking In:

UC Medical Center (UCMC):

When you arrive, you may park in the Bellvue Parking Garage located at 3144 Bellevue Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219.  Alternatively, you may valet at the main entrance to the hospital for a cost of $4.  Upon entering the main lobby of the hospital, please take the elevators to the left of the lobby to the Diagnostic Center on the 2nd floor to check in for surgery.  After registering in the Diagnostic Center, you will be directed to Same Day Surgery, which is down the hall from the Diagnostic Center.

 

 

Holmes Hospital:

 

 

West Chester Hospital:

 

 

Getting Ready for Surgery:

Upon arriving at Same Day Surgery, stop at the front desk and you will be directed to a private room to change into a hospital gown.  You will be given a bag to store your belongings, which we will secure in a locked room, or a family member can keep your belongings for you.  Next, a nurse will perform an assessment, start an IV, and draw any necessary labs.  A friend or family member may stay with you until a member of our staff indicates that it is time for them to move to Surgery Family Waiting.  Your family and friends should check in at the desk in the waiting room and the attendant will go over all the necessary information.  If your surgery is long enough, the nurse from the operating room will call the waiting room with updates for your family.

While you are in Same Day Surgery, you will also meet your anesthesia team.  Your anesthesia team will always consist of an attending anesthesiologist (MD) and may also include a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), an anesthesiology resident (MD), or a Student Registered Nurse Anesthetist (SRNA).  A member of your anesthesia team will discuss your medical history with you, explain your options for anesthesia, and answer any questions that you may have.  Your anesthesia team will also do any necessary special procedures prior to surgery, such as central lines, arterial lines, nerve blocks, or epidurals.

 

Surgery:

When it is time for surgery, a nurse from the Operating Room will come to Same Day Surgery to meet you and do a last safety check prior to taking you back to the operating room.  Sometimes patients receive medications for anxiety and may not remember much about the day after this point.  Your anesthesia team will escort you to the operating room, put you on monitors to watch your heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen level, and breathing, and will then give you medicine to put you to sleep for surgery.  This is a special kind of sleep that keeps you from feeling any pain during surgery and is different than going to sleep at night.  Someone from your anesthesia team will be with you continuously while you are in the operating room.

 

Recovery:

When your surgery is over, your anesthesia team will wake you up and take you to the recovery room (Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU)) or to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).  Your location after surgery depends on your medical history, the type of surgery you had, and how you did during surgery.  A nurse will monitor you closely while you recover and will also give you additional pain and nausea medications, if necessary.