Preparing for Your Day Surgery Procedure
The admission process at NYU Langone’s Day Surgery Center starts when our nursing team contacts you in advance of your procedure to ensure you have completed all of the required medical testing and insurance paperwork. We are dedicated to making this process as smooth as possible for you.
Preadmission Testing
Before your procedure, your doctor may ask you to complete laboratory testing, which may include blood tests. You can do so by calling NYU Langone’s Center for Preadmission Testing at 212-263-5985. These tests should be performed at least 7 to 10 days—but no more than 30 days—before your surgery date.
Preoperative Telephone Conference
One business day before your scheduled surgery date, a member of our nursing staff calls you to help you prepare for surgery and recovery. We also discuss who will accompany you home after surgery.
If you have not received a call from a nurse by one business day before your procedure, please contact your surgeon’s office.
Insurance Information and Precertification for Day Surgery
If you have any questions regarding your hospital coverage for your upcoming admission, please contact the Insurance Clearance Department at 212-404-3906.
Arriving for Surgery & Preoperative Assessment Area
Upon arrival to the Day Surgery Center, please check in with the patient access staff. When you are called into the preoperative assessment area, we ask you to remove all clothing, including undergarments and jewelry. We provide a gown, cap, and slipper socks. Lockers are available for your personal belongings.
Necessities, such as dentures, hearing aids, glasses, and contact lenses, are secured immediately before going into the operating room. During certain procedures, you may be permitted or required to keep these items with you.
In the Operating Room
After arriving in the operating room, you are introduced to the surgical team. Our staff reviews your medical and surgical history, takes your vital signs, and answers your questions. We also attempt to alleviate any anxiety you may have and give you an idea of what to expect during your procedure.
Outpatient surgical procedures are performed using local, epidural, or general anesthesia. Monitoring equipment is applied to some parts of your body. This allows the surgical team to observe your blood pressure, heart rate, and blood oxygen levels.
Post-Anesthesia Care Unit
After surgery has finished, you are transferred to the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). When in the PACU, your nurse continues to monitor your blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, and other vital signs. An automatic blood pressure cuff activates every 15 minutes. You are assessed frequently for pain management and monitored for any postoperative symptoms, including nausea, fever, or bleeding. If you have received anesthesia or sedation, or if it is medically required, an oxygen mask may be placed on or near your nose.
If you had anesthesia or sedation, the average recovery time is 90 minutes. If you received local anesthesia and remained conscious during your procedure, the average recovery time is 30 minutes.
Adults are limited to one or two visitors for five minutes in the PACU.
Discharge Planning
When you leave the Day Surgery Center, we instruct you on ways to recognize signs and symptoms of potential difficulties, including infection at the surgical site, and symptoms such as a fever that warrant a call to your doctor.
The day after your procedure, a nurse calls you to make sure that everything is going well and to answer questions you may have about your procedure or recovery. If you have other questions during your recovery, please contact your surgeon’s office.
To ensure that we have met your postoperative needs, please take a minute to complete our Press Ganey Survey, which is mailed to you. Your feedback is appreciated and helps us improve patient care.