Thank you for choosing OSF Orthopaedics and the Office of Dr. Miguel Ramirez. It is our goal to make your surgery experience and pleasant and efficient as possible. In preparation for your upcoming surgery, the following enclosed necessary pre-operative instructions should be followed to prevent any delay or cancellation of your surgery. call Dr. Ramirez’s office with any questions or concerns regarding the following information.
Pre-operative Testing and Clearance:
- You will be required to have a pre-surgical work-up that includes necessary testing. This includes a history and physical by your Primary Care Physician (PCP) and blood work. This also may include a chest x-ray, EKG and further work-up by other physicians. **Please Note: If you are followed by other physicians, such as cardiologists, endocrinologists, and neurologists, you may be required to see them prior to surgical clearance. Discuss this with your PCP.
- If you have multiple medical problems or a history of prior problems with anesthesia, or have any concerns regarding surgical anesthesia, you may be required to have an anesthesia consult. Please discuss this with your PCP. This should be scheduled 2-3 weeks before your surgery.
Pre-operative Medication Instructions:
- Your PCP will instruct you on all medications that should be taken on the morning of surgery. You should take these medications with a small sip of water.
- You must stop all NSAID medications (Advil, Aleve, Ibuprofen, Motrin, Naproxen, Celebrex, etc.) seven (7) days prior to surgery.
- Unless instructed by your PCP or cardiologist, you must stop Aspirin and Plavix seven (7) days prior to surgery. Please contact us if your PCP or cardiologist does not want you to stop these medications, as this could impact surgery.
- You must stop taking Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Fish Oil seven (7) days prior to surgery. These can increase your bleeding risk.
- If you required daily narcotic use for pain control, such as Vicodin or Percocet, you may take this medication with a small sip of water with your morning medications prior to surgery.
- If you are currently on Coumadin, you must stop taking it seven (7) days prior to surgery. Your PCP may wish that you start taking Lovenox, another kind of blood thinner. This must be stopped two days before surgery. Please call our office to discuss this. Your Coumadin will be restarted the night of surgery. Please arrange to have this monitored by your PCP or cardiologist.
The Morning of Surgery:
- Please arrange for someone to drive you to and from the hospital. This is true for ALL patients having surgery, even those having arthroscopic or elbow surgery.
- It is recommended that you wear loose fitting clothing, such as large t-shirts or button-down shirts to wear home from surgery or in the hospital.
- Be sure and remove all jewelry including any and all rings on your fingers.
- DO NOT eat or drink anything after midnight. This includes hard candy, gum, coffee, etc. The only exception is a small sip of water to take any required AM medications.
- You may brush your teeth on the morning of surgery, but do not swallow any water.
- Surgical Time: Dr. Ramirez’s office will call you the week before your surgery date with your arrival time. This is several hours before your actual procedure. Please be prompt so as not to delay your surgery.
**Please Note** Any time change will come directly from Dr. Ramirez’s office, and will NOT come from the hospital. Please call the office if you have any confusion.
After Hours and Post-Op Instructions:
- If you have any urgent problems once home from surgery (if you had a same-day, outpatient procedure) please call (309)676-5546 and ask that the on-call Orthopedist be called.
- Please give our office 48 hour notice of any pain medications that need to be refilled. Many pain medications that we prescribe may not be called or faxed into the pharmacy so they must be mailed or picked up. You may pick up prescriptions between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm.
- All forms (disability, FMLA, and Workman’s Comp, etc) must be sent to our office. Please allow seven (7-10) days for these to be completed. There is a fee associated with the completion of these forms.
- You will be asked to schedule your first post-operative visit for the following week (unless instructed differently by Dr. Ramirez) after your surgery. Please call the office (309)676-5546 after your surgery to schedule this.