Procedure FAQs
Read below to learn important information for before and after your procedure, including diet, medications, and post-op care.
Insurance Question?
If you have a question about your anesthesia benefits or out-of-pocket responsibility prior to surgery, please call 833.243.4293.
Billing Help?
Head over to this page. Or, if you need to talk to someone, our team is here to help. Just give us a call at 855.457.9900.
YOUR PROCEDURE
Patient Overview
This is an overview of the patient experience you can expect when receiving anesthesia from Ambulatory Anesthesia Care in partnership with your provider, surgeon, or proceduralist. If you have additional questions, contact us and our team will be happy to help.
Patient Opt-in & Completion of Medical History on AAC’s Patient Portal
When: Prior to the appointment once it is scheduled with AAC
- You will receive a text message from AAC to notify you we will be assisting your surgeon/proceduralist for your upcoming visit, as well as a link to complete your medical history via AAC’s secure patient portal.
- Once you complete your medical history, you will receive an email with your pre and post-anesthesia instructions.
- If any additional information is needed, one of our pre-op RN’s may contact you for additional details.
- Please be sure to follow the preop instructions.
Arrival at the Surgeon/Proceduralists Office
When: 60 minutes before the procedure, or as indicated by your surgeon/proceduralists office
- Arrive at your surgeon/proceduralists office to check-in.
- You will be brought into the preop area and change into a gown if indicated.
- The AAC Nurse or anesthesia provider reviews medical history, allergies, current medications, as well as review anesthesia discharge instructions.
- The AAC team will confirm you have a responsible adult present to drive you home.
- Vitals are taken and an IV line is started for medication administration.
- You will meet the Anesthesia provider, who will explain the anesthesia plan and answer any questions you have while obtaining your consent for anesthesia.
Administration of General Anesthesia
When: Just before procedure
- You will be brought to the procedure suite.
- ECG leads; pulse oximeter, oxygen, and blood pressure cuff are placed to monitor you through the procedure.
- Anesthesia is administered through your IV; and you will be asleep quickly.
- Your heart rate, oxygen levels, blood pressure, and breathing. will be continuously monitored throughout the procedure by AAC’s Anesthesia provider.
- The procedure time varies based on the type of procedure, the most common procedures are 30-60 minutes in duration.
Recovery Phase
When: 30–60 minutes after the procedure
- You will be brought to the recovery area where an AAC nurse or clinical support team will care for you while you gradually wake up from anesthesia.
- The AAC team will monitor you in a recovery area until alert and stable meet specific discharge criteria (e.g., stable vitals, ability to walk with assistance, minimal nausea.
- The surgeon/proceduralists team will provide any procedure-specific discharge instructions.
- You will be discharged with who accompanied you for your procedure.
Home Care
Rest, avoid major decisions, do not drive or operate machinery for the remainder of the day.
Follow-Up
When: 1 day after your procedure
- You will receive a text message from AAC to check on your recovery. Please let us know if you have any anesthesia related questions or concerns at this time.
- Follow up with your surgeon/proceduralist as indicated
Patient info
Pre-Operative Guidelines
Please read the following instructions carefully. One of our anesthesia nurses will contact you prior to your procedure to discuss any questions related to your health history, provide pre-op instructions, and discuss any questions that you may have.
You must have a responsible adult driver accompany you to the doctor’s office who can drive you home and stay with you the rest of the day. If you do not have a ride your procedure will be cancelled.
Regarding your diet:
- Do not eat or drink anything After Midnight on the day of your procedure unless you have been given other specific instructions. This includes NO gum, candy, or cough drops.
- If you are having a colonoscopy, please follow the eating and drinking of pre-solution instructions provided by your Gastroenterologist very carefully.
- You may brush your teeth.
- Please do not drink any alcoholic beverages, use marijuana, or smoke cigarettes for at least 24 hours prior to your procedure.
Regarding your medications on the day of your procedure/surgery:
- You may take your prescribed morning medications as usual with just a sip of water at least 2 hours prior to the procedure or surgery. NOTE: it is especially important that you take high blood pressure medications and heart pills.
- Exceptions are as follows:
- If your surgeon has instructed you not to take a specific medication (e.g., blood thinners such as coumadin or aspirin), then do not take them as instructed.
- If you are on a diuretic (water pill), please do not take it the morning of surgery.
- If you take phentermine, stop taking these seven days prior to the procedure to avoid any possible adverse reaction. If less than seven days are left, please stop this medication as soon as possible.
- For all patients on GLP1-a medications (Liraglutide (Saxenda, Victoza), Semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic), Mounjaro (Tirzepatide), Saxenda ,Trulicity, Bydureon (Exenatide, Byetta) regardless of indication for weight loss or diabetes management:
- Hold dose prior to procedure (skip the day of procedure for daily dosing, at least 7 days elapsed since last dose for weekly dosing)
- Clear liquid diet the day before procedure
- For respiratory problems that require the use of inhalers, please use your inhaler as usual. Also, please bring your inhaler with you on the day of your procedure (even if you don’t use very often).
- If you are scheduled for a Dental, ENT, or Plastic Surgery procedure and take the following medications:
- Canagliflozin (Invokana), dapagliflozin (Farxiga), empagliflozin (Jardiance) are to be stopped 72 hours (3 days) prior to the procedure.
- Ertugliflozin (Steglatro) are to be stopped 96 hours (4 days) prior to the procedure.
If you are a Diabetic:
- Please do not take your insulin or other oral diabetic medications (you will not be eating therefore your blood sugar may drop too low). Please continue to check your blood sugar as usual on the day of your procedure. If you have questions, you may call the anesthesia provider or your medical doctor for advice.
- We advise that you call your primary medical doctor for more specific instructions regarding your medication while you are prepping for your procedure. This may cause your glucose levels to fluctuate. Please follow your primary doctor’s instructions in the days leading up to your procedure; or you may call the anesthesia provider’s office and ask to speak with a nurse for more specific instructions.
Female Patients:
- If you are child-bearing age and experience menstrual periods within the past year, you will be asked for a urine sample. Please notify the office team if you need to use the facilities prior to being brought back to the procedure area.
What to wear:
- Wear loose comfortable clothing that is easy to take off and put back on (e.g., buttoned, zipped or snap shirts are preferred). If the patient is a child under the age of eight, please bring a full change of clothing with you.
- Leave your jewelry at home.
- Leave your contacts at home and wear your glasses. If you do not have glasses, please bring a lens case and solution with you.
Reasons why a procedure may be postponed or cancelled:
- Uncontrolled medical conditions.
- Acute illness (e.g., cold, flu, fever, respiratory illness).
- Medical conditions requiring further work-up.
- Patient non-compliance with pre-operative instructions that may place the patient at increased risk.
- Abnormal lab results requiring treatment or work-up.
- Patients with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 45 will require an assessment by an anesthesiologist on the date of service. The anesthesiologist will determine if the procedure will take place, or be cancelled.
Questions
If you have any questions regarding the above instructions or have any other concerns that you would like to discuss with a nurse, please do not hesitate to call our office at (773) 756-5844. The office is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 4pm. If you have insurance questions, please email the billing department at billing@aac-md.com.
Patient’s Rights
As a patient, you have certain rights and responsibilities. You can expect to be treated with respect and to have differences in cultural and educational background respected, without consideration of race, sex, religion, national origin, age or disability status or the source of payment for your care. You have the right to privacy. You have a right to know what role any observer plays in your care, and the right to request that any outsiders leave your room.
Notice of Privacy Practices
Your Information. Your Rights. Our Responsibilities.
This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information.