Patients & Visitors

We understand that you and your family members may have questions about your upcoming surgery. We want to provide you and your family as much information as possible, so that your surgical experience at Baylor Irving is as pleasant as possible.

The first step in the surgical process is to complete your pre-admission appointment. This should be completed five to ten days prior to your day of surgery when possible. At your pre-admission appointment, you may undergo lab, X-ray and EKG tests that will medically clear you for surgery.

Directions, Maps & Parking

What to Bring with You:

Please bring the following items with you to your pre-admission appointment:

• All medications in their original bottles; this includes over-the-counter medications
• Drivers license and insurance card
• Patient forms that your physicians office gave you to fill out (these include patient history and anesthesia questionnaire)

Your Role in Surgery Preparation 

Patients play a vital role in reducing their risk of an infection at the surgical site. It’s important to follow the instructions given to you at your pre-admission appointment.

For five days prior to your surgery, do not shave the operative site or any area that the wipes will come in contact with to prevent bacteria entering the skin through abrasions or irritation. If you are identified as high risk for MRSA or have a history of it you will be given additional preparation instructions.

Your Anesthesia

One to two days before surgery, you will be contacted by your anesthesiology provider to discuss your anesthesia care plan.

Instructions: Day Before and Day of Surgery 

Please carefully follow these instructions the day before and day of your surgery:

• Do not eat or drink anything after midnight, not even water
• Follow your physicians instructions for taking prescriptions, insulin and over the counter medications for the day of surgery
• Follow the night before surgery instructions that you will be given at your pre-admission appointment these include
• Do not smoke, chew gum, or use mints after midnight
• Remove colored nail polish on fingers and toes
• Please leave all valuables at home
• Plan ahead to have a responsible adult drive you home once you are discharged.
• The morning of surgery your family member or friend should drop you off at our main entrance.
• If you’ve already completed most of your paperwork, you will just need to check in with us at the outpatient registration/information desk.

Your Surgery 

Pre-Op

From the outpatient registration/information desk, you will be taken to the Pre-Op area where a couple of things happen:

You will meet with your anesthesiology provider and nurse.

Your surgeon will check with you to address any last minute concerns.

Baylor staff will be asking you questions regarding the actual site of your surgery. We undergo many safety checks to ensure that we are operating on the right patient and the right surgical site, so you may be asked the same questions several times regarding your name, date of birth and the procedure to be performed.

During Surgery

Your friends and family can wait in the visitor's lounge or they are free to move about the hospital and get something to eat.

Post-operative Care 

There are two phases of recovery and, depending what type of anesthesia you received, you will visit one or both of these areas. As you wake from anesthesia, our nursing staff will monitor your vital signs and pain level to provide a safe recovery.

Inpatients

For patients being admitted, once you have cleared our post operative recovery area, you will be transported to a private patient room where you will meet your nurse and other members of the support staff. During this time it’s very important to let us know how your pain is being controlled and if there is anything we can do to make your care better.

Outpatients

If you are having outpatient surgery, you will be discharged from the post operative recovery unit.

Discharge Instructions

When you are ready to be discharged from the hospital, your physician will write at-home instructions and a follow-up care plan and prescriptions for you. It’s important to:

• Ask any questions you have
• Get your medications filled right away
• Make your follow-up care appointment with your physician

Once you are discharged, expect a phone call from us within 24-48 hours, so please make sure we have your correct number.

We want to be certain that you understand all of your at-home instructions, have follow-up care scheduled, and that you don’t have any questions or concerns about your care.

Thank you for entrusting your care to us, we look forward to providing you with the quality care and service you expect and deserve.