Utah Valley Regional Medical Center
Utah Valley Regional Medical Center
Heart Surgical Services
Day of Surgery
What surgery patients can typically expect on the day of surgery.
Arriving at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center
Utah Valley Heart Center
Utah Valley Regional Medical Center
1034 North 500 West
Provo, Utah 84604
Phone: (801) 357-7031
What surgery patients can typically expect on the day of surgery.
- Arriving at the Hospital
- Reception & Admitting
- Pre-Operative Area
- Operating Room/Surgical Area
- Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU)
- Post-Operative Area
Arriving at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center
- Patient and visitor parking is available in the parking structure located off of 1200 North (Bulldog Avenue).
- Expect to be at the hospital up to five days, from check-in to check-out.
- A map of Utah Valley Regional Medical Center:
- Complete admissions paperwork prior to your procedure:
- Prepare to sign the informed consent form. Read details about the consent form and the possible risks of the procedure. This form is for review only. You will be asked to sign the actual document after meeting with your physician on the day of your procedure.
- You will also be given information about anesthesia, physicians and the facility, which includes an acknowlegment of these various providers contributing to your care and the potential for separate billings.
- The Surgery Health History form will be completed at this time, if you have not already provided the information or completed the secure online form.
- Surgery Health History – for Utah Valley Heart Surgical Services
- Notice of Privacy Practices
- Review your insurance information and provide any co-pays. Depending on your insurance, co-pays may be collected at this time or billed to you.
- Read the following material:
- Discharge Instructions (depending on your procedure and the surgeon's preference).
- Review the pain management brochure. Nurses will ask you to rate your pain according to the numeric or picture scale, described in the section Rating Your Pain. This scale will help nursing staff effectively evaluate and manage your pain. If you have any questions, ask the pre-operative nurse prior to surgery.
- You'll be taken to a private area for changing from regular clothes to hospital clothes.
- A registered nurse will perform an assessment, and you will be prepared for surgery. This may include: having vital signs and weight measured, starting an IV (intravenous) line, drawing lab tests, possible urine sample, skin prep and marking of operative site, if necessary.
- You can be provided with a warm blanket, magazines, games and activities, TV or music tapes with headphones, if you choose. Music tapes may be taken with you into surgery.
- You'll learn about your anesthesia, the medication that will help to keep you comfortable during your procedure. Anesthesia will be provided based on your surgery type, your health status, and the anesthesia members on duty at the time of your procedure. All anesthesiologists with Utah Valley Regional Medical Center and the Utah Valley Heart Center are medical doctors with special training in the field of anesthesiology.
- There are four different types of anesthesia that can be used:
- General: You are totally asleep and aware of nothing.
- IV Regional: You are given medication to relax and numb the area so you do not feel pain.
- Monitored (MAC): You may or may not be asleep, but you will feel comfortable. You may be aware of what is going on during the procedure.
- Local: You may receive medication as needed through an IV to keep you relaxed. A registered nurse, under direction of your surgeon, will administer medications.
- There are four different types of anesthesia that can be used:
- Your surgeon and anesthesiologist will visit with you. Please feel free at this time to ask any questions regarding your procedure.
- Children may be medicated prior to surgery. The medication makes children unsteady and likely to fall. If medicated, parents must watch their child closely at all times.
- Waiting times before your procedure starts will vary. The actual time your surgery begins will depend on longer or shorter surgery times and emergencies. We will make every effort to keep you informed if a delay occurs.
- You can walk or be transported in a wheelchair to the operative area by a member of the surgical team.
- Your family will be shown where to wait during your surgery. No family may be permitted in the operating room during the procedure.
- A registered nurse will ask once more for your name, allergies, food intake status and to identify the surgical site.
- Monitors will be applied and a warm blanket provided.
- Your recovery begins with individual nursing care - including pain management. Often, patients do not remember this stage.
- An average time of 30-45 minutes is spent in the PACU; as little as 10 minutes and up to two hours or more, depending on your needs, the type of anesthesia and the procedure performed.
- Family will not be able to visit in the PACU.
- Once you have met specific medical criteria, you will be discharged to the post-operative area.
- Recuperation:
- Your family/visitors will meet you in a private area.
- Inpatients will be taken directly from the PACU to their assigned rooms, where family members can meet them.
- You may feel sleepy and groggy.
- A registered nurse will:
- Take vital signs.
- Treat any nausea/vomiting.
- Manage pain, if needed.
- Offer fluids.
- Provide discharge education (both written and verbal) to you and to the person who is taking you home.
- Prescriptions:
- Your surgeon will provide any discharge prescriptions necessary.
- Have family or appropriate visitors fill these before leaving the facility.
- The hospital pharmacy accepts most insurance plans.
- Going Home:
- You will be observed and made comfortable until you have met medical criteria.
- This stage may be as brief as 30 minutes, or as long as 4 hours, depending on your needs, type of anesthesia and the procedure performed.
- You will be accompanied out of the building by a member of the surgical team, when you are discharged. You may walk, if feeling well enough, or be assisted to your car in a wheelchair.
Utah Valley Heart Center
Utah Valley Regional Medical Center
1034 North 500 West
Provo, Utah 84604
Phone: (801) 357-7031
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