Same Day Surgery Center

Approximately 1-2 weeks before your procedure date at UC Davis Medical Center, you will be contacted by a registered nurse or anesthesia resident in the Surgical Admissions Center to discuss your medical history, current medications, and any previous experiences that you have had with anesthesia.

You will receive a phone call from our Same Day Surgery Center nurses one business day before your surgery to review your pre-surgery* instructions such as arrival time, when to stop taking food/drink, and other details specific to your surgery. 

*Please note that you must arrange a ride home with a responsible adult after your surgery and to care for you at home for the first 24 hours following surgery.

You will need to bring these items with you on surgery day: 

• Your health insurance card. 
• A list of the medications you are taking. 
• If you use any medical devices such as a CPAP machine, please bring them with you on day of surgery. 
• Please do not wear jewelry, makeup, perfume, lotions, deodorants, colognes or aftershave to your procedure.
• Please wear loose fitting comfortable clothing. 
• Please note that visiting in the Same Day Surgery Center pre-op and post-op areas is limited to adults. Children under 16 years of age are not allowed.
• Please note that use of mobile phones is not allowed in the pre-operative and post-operative/recovery room areas.

If you have any questions or concerns about your surgery, please contact your surgeon. 

When you arrive at the Same Day Surgery Center, located at 4845 2nd Avenue, proceed through the sliding glass doors and go through the door on the right where the reception area is located. You will be greeted by our staff and will fill out paperwork upon arrival.

• Once you've checked-in, have a seat and the pre-op nurses will be with you shortly. 
• Staff will obtain your visitor contact information; provide you with information regarding parking as well as pre-op and post-op visitation.
• In addition, information for local lodging, parking, restaurants, and hospital resources such as chaplain services can be provided.

The surgery waiting room is the location your family members or loved ones may wait for you while you are undergoing surgery.

• The electronic patient status board will keep you updated with the progress of your loved one. The board will allow your family member or loved one to track your progress through pre-op, surgery, and recovery.

When it is time to start preparing you for surgery, a registered nurse or another staff member will find you in the waiting room and escort you to a pre-op room.

In pre-op you will meet a number of specialists who will help prepare you in different ways:

• The pre-op nurse will check your vital signs (blood pressure, temperature, respiration rate, pulse, etc.) complete a physical assessment, start your IV, and make the needed notations on the chart.
• This is the time you will review your home medications with the nurse.
• The pre-op nurse will also provide education regarding what to expect after surgery in the recovery area.

One visitor may sit with you in the pre-op room until it is time for you to go to the operating room.

• Please keep in mind visitors must be age 16 or older.
• We encourage all visitors to use alcohol foam cleaner or wash hands before visiting patients.
• We have a locker for your clothes but ask that your family or loved ones take your valuables while you are in surgery. 

Before entering the operating room:

• The anesthesiologist/CRNA will meet you and discuss the anesthesia process with you, including what anesthesia will do, how it will be administered, and how long you may be affected by it after the surgical procedure.
• The anesthesiologist/CRNA will accompany you into the operating room and an anesthesiologist will be with you for the duration of your surgical procedure.
• The operating room nurse(s) will introduce themselves and confirm surgical procedure.
• The surgeon(s) will check in with you and answer any questions you have about the surgery.

One of your family members or loved ones who are attending to support you can remain with you in pre-op until you go to the operating room. At that time they will be escorted to the waiting room.

Your family members or loved ones are welcome to stay in the waiting room while you are in surgery:

• They may want to bring a book, music (headphones only) or a movie (headphones only) to pass the time. We ask that they remain available by phone while you are in surgery. If they are leaving the surgery waiting area, we ask that they check in with the staff member as they leave and when they return. 
• If your child is having surgery and is 17 years old or younger, one parent must stay in the Same Day Surgery Center at all times until the patient is released to go home.
• If your family members or loved ones need food or coffee, we recommend they do so right after you have gone into the operating room. By doing this, they can make sure they are available when the surgeon comes out to discuss how your operation went. 
• Children may not be left unattended in the waiting room. 
  
  

After the surgery, you will be taken to the post-op/recovery room.

• Here, you will be assessed by nurses and physicians to ensure that you are comfortable and that your recovery is continuing as it should.
• You will remain in the post-op/recovery room until your have recovered from the anesthesia and are discharged to go home.

Once a patient arrives in the recovery room, it usually takes 15 to 30 minutes before they are ready for visitors. Guidelines for receiving visitors:

• Your loved ones will know when you arrive in the recovery room by looking at the electronic status board in the waiting room.
• To promote healing and recovery, only one visitor is allowed to visit during the recovery phase.
• We encourage all visitors to use alcohol foam hand cleaner or to wash their hands before visiting patients.
• Please note, to provide for all patients' privacy and safety, there may be times when we limit visitation in the post-op recovery area. 
• No flowers or latex balloons may be brought into the recovery room.

Before being discharged* from the recovery area, you will be examined by an anesthesiologist. 

You and your loved ones will be provided with all the information you need for a continued, safe recuperation at home, such as discharge instructions and contact phone numbers for both daytime and overnight use. 

*You must have a ride home and someone to stay with you for the first 24 hours after surgery.