SVS Division FAQs

Due to our concern for patient confidentiality and legal requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, we only release personal medical information to the patient himself/herself and any individuals/entities for which we have written authorization from the patient.

We do have a nurse advice line (949) 364-1007 available during business hours for any questions. Your questions will be answered within 24 hours.  If you need immediate attention, please dial (0) and ask to speak directly to someone.

Each surgeon has his own surgery scheduler. She will make all the necessary arrangements with the hospital/facility and obtain authorization from your insurance carrier. She will then call you with this information. She will mail verification of date, time, facility and procedure. You will receive orders for preoperative tests that may be required as well as a list of laboratory locations.  She will also send instructions for bowel preparation, diet or medication restriction. You will also receive aftercare instructions and follow-up appointment date and time.  

For most surgical procedures you will have dressings covered by waterproof transparent dressings; this allows you to shower. We will remove dressings here at your first visit. Some procedures may require you to care for your site and we will instruct you in this procedure. If you are unable to perform care, we will be happy to help arrange home care or perform wound care here in our office.

This depends on many factors including the type of surgery, type of work you do and the duties required. This will be discussed at your consultation. For healing of hernias and major abdominal wounds, our bodies generally require at least 6 weeks until they are strong enough for heavy lifting and abdominal exercises.  We do have instructions on how to complete the necessary disability forms.  We can also send a letter to your employer, gym membership, etc. if needed.

An electronic prescription for medications will be written and sent to your pharmacy on record prior to discharge from the hospital or surgery center. We offer a prescription refill line available during business hours. Please allow ample time for the office to contact the surgeon to provide an electronic prescription.. 

Please note that all prescriptions are required to be electronically prepared.  The surgeon may not know what medications are backordered at your pharmacy at the time of prescribing. Please notify the office if your pharmacy does not have your prescription. 

*It is important to make your requests during business hours, because on call Surgeons will not be able to prescribe for you*

In most cases your surgeon will want to discuss this with you himself, either in person or by phone.  In certain cases, our advice nurses can obtain results for you and discuss these reports with you on the phone. With your permission, we can also mail, fax or e-mail results when requested. We will also give you a copy at your first visit and fax a copy to any physicians that are involved in your care.

 *Some cultures and specialty biopsies may require up to 14 days*

OC Surgeons/SVS Division has a surgeon on 24 hour call at Mission Hospital and can be reached for emergencies through our 24 hour answering service (949) 364-1007.

For life-threatening emergencies please call 911 and/or proceed directly to the nearest emergency room.  Please note that our surgeons provide 24 hour coverage to the Mission Hospital Emergency Department (949) 364-2202.

We request that you delay travel plans as long as possible after abdominal surgery. But if you do travel after surgery we suggest that you ambulate often, elevate legs as much as possible and utilize compression stockings (men too!).

This will decrease venostasis and reduce to incidence of:Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)  which is an occlusion of a vein by clot

or

Pulmonary Embolism ( PE)  which is a DVT that  breaks away from the vein wall and migrates to the lung where it impairs blood flow and gas exchange, potentially resulting in fatal circulatory collapse. The risks of this increases with age, type of surgery, hereditary conditions, trauma, cancer, reduced mobility, smoking, use of oral contraceptives and pregnancy.

Laparoscopic/robotic procedures are “minimally invasive”, in that they are done using a laparoscope, robot, and specialized instrumentation. This allows the surgeons to use smaller incisions  (5-10mm in size).  Patients have a shorter hospitalization and faster recovery.

Open procedures are done with a surgical site incision size appropriate for the surgeon to actually handle tissues directly.

 There are many factors that determine which procedure is appropriate for each patient and your surgeon will discuss this with you during your initial consult.

After most surgical procedures, you will gradually be able to return to your regular diet. If a special diet is recommended for recovery, you will be instructed before you are discharged. At any time, if you are not sure about your special diet, please call the nurse advice line for help. They can arrange a counseling referral for Nutrition Support as needed. 

Nutrition Support includes:

• Diabetes
• Heart Disease
• Hypertension
• High Cholesterol
• Weight Control
• Vegetarian Nutrition
• Renal Disease
• Food Allergies
• Weight Gain/Nutritional Support
• Sports Nutrition
• Celiac Disease
• and Others

After most surgical procedures, you may resume at your own comfort level. Usually 2-3 weeks.  

Please remember the weight lifting restrictions given for your particular operation when considering this and any other physical activity.

During your surgery, your Surgeon will determine whether or not a drain will be necessary. Before you are discharged you will be given care instructions that include a record keeping log. You will indicate time of measurement, amount and consistency of drainage.

You will need to bring this record with you to your postoperative visit. This allows us to evaluate your progress and determine when to remove your drain.

Please call our office as soon as possible for any illness within one week of your scheduled operation. Your cold may resolve as your surgery date nears.  If you have symptoms of an upper respiratory infection (URI) or congestion we may need to cancel your surgery for safety reasons, as minor URIs can become bronchitis and pneumonia following general anesthesia.  It is much preferred to cancel early and reschedule than to show up expecting an operation but be cancelled and sent home.  We can typically re-schedule your operation much earlier if we are given notice of a few days.

Your  anesthesiologist will contact you the night before your surgery regarding your health status.  You can also check with your primary care physician for preoperative treatment of symptoms.

As long as we have current insurance information on file, we will be able to arrange all preauthorizations.  If you have questions regarding your insurance authorization, please call the office for assistance with these questions..  

This is to comply with the Identity Theft Prevention Program which was developed in order to comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft Prevention Red Flags Rule (16 CFR § 681.2).

In brief, you may call and ask us any pre-operative medication related questions at any time.

That said, antiplatelet medications such as ASPIRIN and PLAVIX should be stopped at least 7 days before your operation.

COUMADIN (WARFARIN) should be stopped at least five (5) days pre-op.  Your blood test (INR) may be repeated on the day of your operation.

HEPARIN and LOVENOX doses should be held on the day of your operation.

In general, all blood pressure medications and asthma medications should be taken even on the day of surgery with a sip of water.

There are several new diabetes medications that are taken either orally or by injection and these medications have a “hold” time of 4 days up to 7 days prior to your surgery..  Please call our office if you are on any diabetic medication.  It is best to identify these medications early so that surgery is not cancelled.

The letters “FACS” after a surgeon’s name indicates that he or she is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Fellows of the College are board-certified surgeons whose education, training, professional qualifications, surgical competence, and ethical conduct have been reviewed and evaluated prior to admittance and have been found to be consistent with the high standards of the American College of Surgeons. The letters “FACS” after a surgeon’s name indicates that the surgeon has submitted to a process to obtain voluntary credential and performance evaluation by their peers. 

For further information, see the web site of the American College of Surgeons  www.facs.org/patienteducation/