What to Expect the Day of Surgery:
The day before your surgery you will receive a call from our staff to inform you of your check in time. If you do not receive a call by 3 p.m., please give us a call at (916) 734-5959.
The day of surgery you will check in at the admissions desk, located on the 1st floor of the UC Davis Surgery and Emergency Services Pavilion in Sacramento, California. This is located next to the main entrance to the Medical Center.
Please bring your insurance card and photo identification. Do not bring large sums of money or valuables.
Following check in, you will go to the preoperative area on the 3rd floor of the Surgery and Emergency Services Pavilion. Here you will be asked to change into a hospital gown and given an ID bracelet. Once you have changed into your hospital gown, you will be asked to give all of your belongings to your nurse for secure storage or to your family or friends. Usually, a family member or friend can stay with you in the preoperative area until the consultation with the anesthesia staff begins, at which point they will be asked to wait in the waiting area. *Please note that currently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are no visitors allowed in the preoperative area in order to keep our patients as safe as possible.
A nurse will check your vital signs and review your medical history, medications, allergies and your procedure. An IV will be started and any necessary laboratory work sent off. You will meet your anesthesia team in the preoperative area. Often this is composed of an attending anesthesiologist (who is in charge) and a resident anesthesiologist (a doctor who is in training). Your anesthesia team will again review your medical history and discuss how anesthesia will be administered during your procedure.
Prior to leaving the preoperative area for the operating room, you will meet with your surgical team. Your surgical team is often composed of the attending surgeon who you met during your consultation along with a surgical resident. The surgical team will confirm your procedure and answer any further questions.
. Following your procedure, you will be brought to the recovery area, where you are monitored by the nursing and anesthesiology teams as your anesthesia wears off. The surgical team will meet with your family or friends in the waiting area and give them a summary of the operation.