After Inpatient Surgery

Recovery

After surgery, if you received a local anesthetic, you are taken back to your own room. If you received a spinal or general anesthetic, you are taken directly to the recovery room.

As you awaken, you may hear one of the nurses calling your name and telling you that the operation is over. Due to the effects of the anesthetic, you also may feel groggy and unsure of where you are or what time it is, but gradually you will become more aware of the activities around you.

If you have oxygen when you wake up, do not be alarmed. It is given to assist breathing until you are fully awake. The recovery room nurses routinely check your blood pressure, pulse, temperature and respiration every ten minutes.

Frequent Follow-Up/Medication

After you are transferred to your room, the nurses will continue to check these vital signs frequently. In addition, they will also check your dressing, any drainage tube and I.V. fluids.

If you need it, the nurse may give you medication for the relief of discomfort. How often you may receive it is determined by the anesthesiologist and your attending physician. You will be asked to "rate" your pain on a scale from 0-10. You may also be visited by a therapist from our cardiorespiratory care department who helps you with deep breathing and coughing that is important during your recovery.

You may be helped out of bed the evening of or the morning after your surgery because getting out of bed and walking are also important during your recovery. Do not be afraid to move around.

Visiting Hours

Family members may be with you the day of surgery. While you are in the operating and recovery rooms, they should wait in the Surgical Waiting Area located on the third floor. When you return to your room, they are notified and may join you.

Visiting hours on most medical and surgical units are 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Some units have more restrictive priveleges to assure patients have sufficient recovery time. Please check with your family member's nurse for the visiting hours on their unit.

Discharge Information

When your physician determines you are ready to be discharged, he or she will meet with you to discuss your release and follow-up care, including return check-ups, necessary prescriptions and recuperative needs.

Checkout times are scheduled before 11 am. You should be ready to leave your room to go home at this time. When you are discharged, a staff member will accompany you or a close relative to the discharge desk to settle your account.

If no one is available to pick you up at your discharge time, a staff member will escort you to our comfortable V.I.P. (Very Important Patient) Discharge Lounge, located in the Intergenerational Day Center (IDC) on Condell Medical Center's campus, to wait until your transportation arrives. While in the V.I.P. Discharge Lounge, you will be able to receive meals. The lounge is open until 6 pm without charge. Family members can pick up patients from the V.I.P. Discharge Lounge at the entrance to the IDC. Please ring bell for service.