Prior to Day of Procedure
Pre-Procedural Testing
It is important that the PAT nurse speak with you before you come for surgery. If you do not speak with a PAT nurse, you may miss important instructions or testing, and your procedure may be cancelled. If you have not spoken to a PAT nurse before your procedure date, please call:
Smithfield: 919-209-3634
Clayton: 919-585-8600
Once the decision has been made that surgery or a procedure is necessary, your surgeon will schedule your surgery date and time. When the hospital receives the information from your surgeon’s office, a Pre-Admission Testing (PAT) nurse will call you to get your health history information or to set up an appointment for you to meet with the nurse.
- Pre-procedural testing is to review your entire medical history, including outside medical records, current medications, allergies, order labs, and an EKG or X-rays, if necessary. Bring your medications to the appointment. Please note that this visit may take 1-2 hours.
- Based on your health history, your surgeon or nurse may find it necessary to have a medical or cardiac clearance prior to the procedure. This may require you to schedule a visit with your primary care provider, cardiologist or other specialists.
- Before you leave your surgeon’s office, please make sure the staff has the correct phone number where you can be reached.
Preparing For Your Surgical Procedure
- You will receive a call from scheduling/registration to get your address, correct name and spelling, and insurance information.
- You will be called the day before your procedure with your arrival time, which will be around 2 hours prior to your scheduled procedure start time. For your safety, during this time you will meet many members of your care team, including our anesthesiologist who sees all of our patients and needs time to answer any and all questions you may have about your anesthesia.
- If you get a rash, fever, cold, nausea, or vomiting within 24 hours prior to your surgery, please call your surgeon. It may mean that your surgery will need to be postponed.
Please know that there is always the potential for delays and time changes related to emergencies or other cases that may take longer than expected. If any delay or emergency arises, we will keep you informed of any surgery time changes before and on the day of surgery.
A delay may also occur if bed availability for an overnight stay or admission is limited due to higher-than-expected census. During these times, your health care team will discuss your options, which may include being safely discharged home after surgery, an extended stay in the recovery room for several hours or overnight depending on bed availability, or postponing your surgery.
We will work hard to keep you informed and ensure you are provided excellent care in all phases.
Parents of Children Coming to Surgery
- Children under 2 years of age may have usual diet until midnight. Between midnight and 3:00 a.m., they may have 3 ounces of a clear liquid (water, apple juice). After 3:00 a.m., nothing by mouth.
- Please bring formula, pacifiers, bottles and/or a sippy cup and diapers. Your child will need these items after surgery. Children may bring a favorite toy, pillow or blanket to take to surgery with them.
- All minors (18 years or under) must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, who must remain at the hospital the entire time the child is here.
- If you are the legal guardian, you will need to bring a copy of the signed and notarized legal guardianship paperwork with you, if we do not already have it saved in the medical record. Non-parental legal guardians need to bring a copy of the signed and notarized legal guardianship paperwork to the hospital the day of surgery.
- Your child will need your attention after surgery. Please arrange for siblings to be cared for at home. If this is not possible, we recommend that you bring a second adult along to help with their care.
Important Instructions
Within 24 Hours of Your Surgery
- ADULTS SHOULD NOT EAT OR DRINK ANYTHING AFTER 10 P.M. THE NIGHT BEFORE AND UP TO THE TIME OF SURGERY, unless instructed to do so. This includes candy, gums, mints, water, black coffee, cough drops, snuff or chewing tobacco. Failure to follow these instructions may result in the cancelation of your procedure.
- Do NOT smoke, drink alcohol, or use illegal drugs for 24 hours before your procedure.
- Remove any colored nail polish. Only clear polish is acceptable.
- For the sake of your privacy and the limited space in the surgical preparation rooms, no more than two visitors will be able to accompany you in the surgical preop and postop areas. Let family and friends know that you will be at the hospital for a brief time and they should plan to visit you at home.
- Please leave large sums of money at home. Exceptions are money for prescriptions needed for surgery. The Johnston Health Outpatient Pharmacy in Smithfield can fill your prescriptions for you prior to discharge. Bring your insurance card and any pharmacy cards for prescription fills.
Surgical Site Infection Prevention
- Shower or bathe and shampoo the night before and/or morning of surgery. If you are provided special soap, use soap as instructed (see instructions in the back of this booklet).
- Do NOT shave or wax the area near your procedural site within 48 hours of your procedure.
- After showering, DO NOT apply makeup, deodorant, lotion, powder or perfumes.
- Prior to surgery, please make sure clean bedsheets are applied to your bed and clean pajamas are available when you return to your home after surgery.
Medications
Before Your Procedure
- Please bring all prescription medications including prescription eye drops. You may need to take some of your medicine prior to surgery. The pre-operative nurse will discuss this with you during your pre-surgery call or visit.
- Follow instructions provided to you by the PAT staff regarding which medications to take or to not take. If there is a discrepancy between these instructions and the instructions given to you by your surgeon, contact the PAT office BEFORE the day of surgery for clarification. Failure to follow the instructions provided by the PAT staff may result in the cancelation of your procedure.
Day of Your Procedure
If instructed to take medications at home, do so only with a sip of water. Nebulizer treatments should be done the morning of surgery before arriving at the hospital.
Transportation
You will need to have a driver who is 18 years or older to get your discharge instructions, take you home, and stay with you the first 24 hours after surgery. You cannot drive yourself or be left alone.
- We ask that the driver be here during your surgery in case we or the surgeon/physician needs to talk with him or her.
- For your safety, we will not allow you to use a taxicab/Uber/Lyft to go home, unless a responsible adult rides with you. This does not include the driver of the car service.
Advance Directives
- If you have an advance directive (living will or medical power of attorney), please bring a copy with you to registration. It will be scanned into your chart.
- All advance directive forms (living will or medical power of attorney) must be completed and notarized before the day of your procedure.
