After Outpatient Surgery

Recovery

After surgery, you will be in the recovery room for one to two hours after general anesthesia and a half-hour after local anesthesia. Your condition will be closely monitored until you have recovered from your anesthetic.

Due to the effects of the general anesthetic, it is important for you to understand that you will feel groggy and weak. You need to go home, go directly to bed and sleep for a few hours. It is essential to have a responsible adult stay with you for the next 24 hours in case you become ill and also to ensure you take it easy and give your body ample time to rest.

Hospital Admission After Outpatient Surgery

Occasionally, if becomes necessary for a patient to be admitted to the hospital after outpatient surgery. This may occur if the operation takes more time than planned, if there is pain that requires more than oral medication for relief or if postoperative problems develop.

If you are admitted, your family will be notified at the time they are paged to meet the surgeon following surgery. (For more visitor information, see our Visitor Reference Guide.)

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 Instructions After Hospital Admission

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 checkups, necessary prescriptions and recuperative needs.

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 or before 11 am, you may request a ride home by our Transportation Service for a $10 charge. Or, 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 Discharge Lounge, you will be able to receive meals if needed. The lounge is open until 6:00 pm. Family members can pick up patients from the V.I.P Discharge Lounge at the inside entrance of the IDC. Please ring bell for service.

You will need a person to escort you home.