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Preparing for Outpatient Surgery

Your Outpatient Surgery

You will be provided with your arrival time and more specific information closer to the day of surgery.

It is very important that we have a phone number where you can be reached. If your phone number changes, please contact us to update this information. Surgery may be postponed if we are unable to reach you.

If you have not heard from us before the end of the day prior to your scheduled surgery, please contact the number below to obtain the location details. This number can also be used for any and all questions regarding outpatient surgery.

 

Location Contact Information
Boston 617-371-4850 Ohio 855-206-2096
Canada 514-282-7194 Philadelphia 215-430-4000
Chicago 773-668-0365 Portland 503-241-5090
Erie 814-875-8700 Salt Lake City 801-536-3500
Greenville 864-271-3444 Shreveport 318-674-4079
Hawaii 808-941-4466 Southern California 626-389-9300
Lexington 859-266-2101 Spokane 509-455-7844
Mexico 52-55-5424-7850 St. Louis 314-432-3600
New England 413-787-2000 Texas 409-770-6571
Northern California 916-453-2191 Twin Cities 612-596-6100

Please call if your child is sick, congested and/or has a fever within four weeks of the surgery date. We may not be able to continue with the surgery as planned if your child is or has been ill.

Our plan is for your child to be discharged home the same day of surgery. That may change in the unlikely event that your child needs additional monitoring, requiring an overnight stay locally. It may be helpful to pack an overnight bag for both child and caregiver. It is important to closely monitor your child after surgery and look for signs and symptoms of infection. Learn more about postoperative management.

If you need to cancel or change the surgery date, would like to discuss lodging or transportation needs, or if you have any additional questions, please call the number above for your surgery location.

Day Before and Day of Surgery
  • A team member will call you before surgery. It is very important that they are able to talk to a legal parent or legal guardian.
  • A legal parent or legal guardian must accompany the patient on the day of surgery.
  • Patients of driving age cannot drive themselves home.
  • The patient must have a bath or shower the night before surgery.
  • If you received 2% chlorhexidine gluconate cloths to use prior to surgery, please use those in addition to bathing (see instructions below).

Call the above listed number if:

  • The patient has any scrapes, scratches, insect bites or any skin abrasions near the surgical site.
  • The patient is sick. This includes colds, flu, fever, asthma, productive cough or rashes.
  • The patient is exposed to any communicable illness, such as chicken pox or COVID.
  • You need to cancel or postpone surgery for any reason.

Chlorhexidine Gluconate Scrub Cloths (If Provided)

After bathing, use the cloths to wash the surgical area as instructed by your care manager. Vigorously scrub the skin back and forth for three minutes, completely wetting the treatment area, then discard the cloth. Allow the area to dry for one minute. Do not rinse.

Scrubbing the skin over the area where your child is having surgery helps decrease bacteria that can potentially cause infection. It is important that you do this the night before surgery.

Precautions
  • Do not use on children under 2 months of age.
  • Do not use on children with allergies to chlorhexidine gluconate or any other ingredients in this cloth.
  • Do not use on any open wounds (scratches or scrapes in the area).
  • Do not use near eyes, ears or mouth. If the child is likely to put a scrubbed extremity in his/her mouth, cover it if possible. If the area is impossible to cover, after five minutes of drying, rinse the area with water to remove the scrub solution. It is better to have the scrub remain on the area. However, the scrub ingredients can be toxic if ingested.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call.

Checklist of Items for Day of Surgery
  • Current medications list, including herbal products (bring inhalers, if applicable)
  • Guardianship papers if anything has changed
  • Any special medical equipment relevant to your child’s care (i.e. G-tube extension set/ connector, CPAP, if applicable)
  • Extra bottle of formula or breast milk
  • Cotton underwear is preferred
  • Loose, comfortable clothing to wear home
  • Extra diapers
  • Pillows for propping the extremity for the ride home (if applicable)
  • Favorite toy, blanket, pacifier or anything that brings the patient emotional comfort
  • Favorite bottle or cup, if a special one is needed
  • Spica car seat (if applicable)
NO – NO items:
  • No smoking, vaping, tobacco products or alcohol for 24 hours before surgery
  • No jewelry, including body piercings
  • No contact lenses (Patients should wear glasses and bring their glasses case)
  • No nail polish, gel nails or artificial nails
  • No chewing gum
Compassionate, innovative care that improves the quality of life for children and their families.

Reminders

Medications

You will need to bring a complete list of all your child’s medications, including all herbal products, to the medical center. Bring any inhalers your child uses. Your child must not take any medicines with food before coming to the medical center. The team member will contact you and discuss during the preoperative phone call whether any home medications are to be taken.

Food and Drinks

The team member who calls before your surgery will talk to you about when to stop eating solid foods, and when to stop milk, formula and clear liquids. It is very important that the patient have no solid food before their surgery. Watch small children closely to be sure they do not get food. Solid food in the patient’s stomach could be very dangerous during anesthesia.

Urine Specimen
All females 10 years or older will need to give a urine sample when they arrive for surgery. We have to do a pregnancy test before we administer anesthesia. This may sound like it does not apply to your child, but we must check every applicable patient, every time. We will not be able to take the patient to surgery until we have the results from this test.

We Understand the Unique Medical Needs of Children

We provide vital, pioneering treatment from birth to age 18. Here, children have the opportunity to be evaluated and treated by doctors recognized as the best by their peers.
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