Day Surgery is located on the first floor of the Outpatient Plaza. Look for the large, lighted “Day Surgery” sign. Please check in with our Admissions clerk at the Day Surgery window. If you are having surgery at Rapides Women’s and Children’s Hospital, please check in at the Admitting Office in the Rapides Women’s and Children’s Hospital Lobby. The Scott Street entrance to RWCH remains open 24 hours a day.
Preadmission testing allows us to review your health history – including allergies to medication, food or latex. It also gives you the opportunity to ask a nurse any questions you may have. You will leave with verbal and written instructions regarding your surgery.
The tests (blood work, Xray, EKG) are based on your health history, the type of surgery you are having and as requested by your physician. Some patients require no diagnostic tests.
Please bring any paperwork the physician has asked you to bring, insurance information and reading glasses. It is most important that you bring a list of medications you are taking (prescription and over-the-counter). If you do not have a list, bring the actual medications with you. If you have questions, write them down and bring them, too.
- Names of medications or bottles of medications (if you did not bring them to preadmission testing)
- Reading glasses
- Reading material and/or audio devices
- Crutches, if required after surgery
Jewelry is a safety issue in the operating room. Leaving jewelry on poses a risk of burns from electrocautery, injury from swelling or pressure and infection. We also ask that you remove all body piercings.
This restriction is important for your safety when you undergo anesthesia. If you do not follow this restriction, your surgery could be cancelled. After midnight the night before surgery, do not consume:
Food of any type, including hard candy, cough drops, mints
Beverages, including water, coffee and soda
Gum
Certain medications are permitted the morning of surgery. They are to be consumed with as little water as possible. The medications that are permitted include:
- Heart medication
- Blood pressure medication
- Seizure medication
- Other medications as instructed by your surgeon
Having low blood sugar when you undergo surgery can pose a problem for you. The Day Surgery staff will check your blood sugar the morning of your procedure.
The surgery schedule is finalized the morning before to insure the most accurate schedule for our patients. Calling after 9:00am the morning before surgery provides you with the most accurate information and the least chance of disrupting your arrangements for arrival.
Those two hours allows for adequate preparation before surgery and for flexibility in case another patient has cancelled. There may be delays in the surgery schedule due to other unplanned circumstances. We encourage you to bring reading material and audio devices to help you relax before surgery.
If successfully treated, sleep apnea is usually not a problem. The anesthesia department might need to place a special breathing tube due to your sleep apnea. Depending on the severity of the sleep apnea and the type of surgery, some patients will need to be observed in the hospital overnight.
Rapides Regional Medical Center has a policy in place to minimize the risk of operating on the wrong site. Throughout your preoperative preparation, you will be asked many times to identify the correct operative site. Your surgeon will verify the correct site and write “yes” on the site prior to your procedure.
Your cardiologist needs to check your pacemaker before surgery to make sure it is functioning properly. If you have an internal defibrillator, you need to see your cardiologist before surgery. If you have an identification card for your pacemaker and/or internal defibrillator, please bring it with you and give it to the nurse.