The Night Before and the Day of Surgery

  • Stop Eating or Drinking at Midnight the night before surgery.
    This is called in medical terms NPO. Some patients may be asked to take certain medications the next morning. You will have received detailed instructions pertaining to what medication to take and when at your Pre-Operative Personalized Meeting (see above). If you have any questions about this you should call Dr. Weldon’s office the day before (522-3274).
  • If you do eat on the morning of surgery then it is probable that your surgery will be cancelled.
  • Clean Skin the night before with the wipes that you were given in your .
  • Follow the instructions given at the Pre-operative Personalized Meeting. 

The Day of Surgery

  • Clean Skin with cloth in the morning.
    Follow the instructions given at the Pre-operative Personalized Meeting. Also, see form.
  • Come to Straub 3 Hours prior to surgery.
    You will be informed of the time of your surgery and when to show up 1-2 days prior to your surgery.
  • Go to Admitting on 1st floor (see map)
    If you have not Pre-Registered then you will do it at this time. You will also get an arm band with your information on it. You will go over your personal belongings checklist update.
  • Go to Surgical Admissions Center (SAC) (2nd floor, main hospital).
    There you will knock on door. They may ask you to wait in waiting room. Once the call you in, you will change and place your belongings in a bag. The bag will be kept in a locked locker.

    You will then walk across the hall to and lay down on a Gurney bed. An tube will be placed in you vein (an IV tube). You will meet nurses who will review your chart to make sure everything is in order.

    Loved ones can accompany you into SAC and stay with you until you are taken into the operating room. If you would like to have your loved ones called by Dr. Weldon after surgery then you can give the nurse the needed contact information at this time.

  • Meet your Anesthesiologist (in SAC).

  • At this time you will meet your anesthesiologist. This anesthesiologist will be the doctor administering to you while you are in surgery. He or she will review your chart and make a final assessment about your risks. They will discuss this assessment with you. If they need more information they may order more tests. If they find something worrisome then they may recommend that your surgery be postponed. This is not necessarily the same anesthesiologist with whom you met at the prior pre-operative Anesthesiologist meeting.

  • They will discuss the risks of anesthesia with you. They may offer you a nerve block to make the region of the surgery numb. This can occur prior to surgery or after surgery.

  • At this time if you have any special concerns or information which you feel is important then you should verbalize this to your anesthesiologist.

  • Meet Surgical Specialist Ms. Chang (in SAC).

  • Chang is a Physician’s Assistant who assists Dr. Weldon in almost every surgery. She will introduce herself while you are in SAC. You can ask her any questions you may have pertaining to the surgery. She will review your chart and consent form and will then write her initials on your skin at the site of surgery (your shoulder for example).

  • You may or may not see Dr. Weldon prior to surgery.

  • Due to the fact that Dr. Weldon is usually occupied operating on the prior patient, he does not always meet with patients in SAC prior to surgery. If you have concerns or questions after your meeting with Ms. Chang, you can request to meet with Dr. Weldon. He will do his best to accommodate any request but this may result in a delay in your surgery.

  • To the Operating Room (next door to SAC)

  • Once all questions have been answered and you have received your final clearance from your anesthesiologist then you will be wheeled on your gurney bed from SAC into the operating room. You may or may not be given a dose of medications in the vein to begin the anesthesia process. At this point your loved ones will be escorted out of SAC and into the waiting room.