Your Shoulder Arthroscopy at HSS: What to Expect
Nazar Kalivoshko, MD
2005-2006 Regional Anesthesia Fellow
Department of Anesthesiology
Hospital for Special Surgery
The following is a helpful timeline to help you understand and prepare for your experience at HSS. Although the following outline of a shoulder arthroscopy is a typical one, please keep in mind that your experience may differ.
The Weeks and Days Before Your Surgery
When scheduling your procedure with your surgeon, make sure you obtain an estimate of how long you will be in the hospital. Most likely, you will go home the same day; alternatively, you might be required to stay in the hospital for a few days. Make sure to plan accordingly, considering work schedules, holidays, and upcoming family plans.
- Clearance: Weeks before the operation, you will have your surgery date set and see a medical doctor for a detailed physical examination and clearance for surgery. If your particular medical condition requires it, other tests might be needed before surgery, such as an EKG or a chest x-ray. On occasion, you might need additional testing, such as a cardiac stress test or echocardiograph.
- Medications: You may be instructed by your surgeon or primary doctor to stop certain medications (such as strong blood thinners like Plavix or Coumadin) several days to a week before your surgery. In addition, you may be instructed to take some of your medications the morning of surgery even though you won't be allowed to eat that morning. It is important for you to bring a list (or a bag of pill bottles) including all your medications to your medical clearance. This includes vitamins, over-the-counter medications, and supplements (a number of medications and supplements may interact with medications you might receive after surgery).
The day before your scheduled procedure, a perioperative nurse from HSS will call you with additional instructions and reminders. You will be told when and where to come the next morning, and you will be reminded not to eat or drink anything after midnight. This does not apply to the medications that you have been instructed to take the morning of surgery with a small sip of water. Be sure to follow the nurse’s recommendations strictly, as your surgery might otherwise have to be re-scheduled.
After arriving at HSS at the designated time, you will be directed by the Information Desk Receptionist to the Ambulatory Surgery Center. You will then check in and will shortly thereafter be asked to change into a hospital gown.
- The “Holding Area”: Once changed and having stored your belongings, you will be escorted to the preoperative “Holding Area”, where you will be prepared for surgery. A locker will be provided for your belongings, but please leave any valuables at home. This includes all jewelry, as you will be asked to remove it before entering the operating room. You will be asked to change into a hospital gown, and will be assigned a bed in the Holding Area. There will be other patients in the room, all separated from each other by curtains for privacy. One member of your family can be with you during this time. A nurse will introduce himself/herself, ask you questions pertaining to your surgery, and confirm the site of surgery before starting an intravenous line (most commonly called an “IV”) to give you fluids, with minimal discomfort. The nurse will explain that this procedure is necessary to perform the surgery safely as well as to provide sedation, and that it has to be placed in the hand opposite that of the site of the operation. If you are a woman of child-bearing age, you will be asked to provide a urine specimen for a pregnancy test.
- The Pre-operative Exam: Next, a Physician’s Assistant (PA), will take your history and perform a physical exam. The main purpose of this examination is to see if anything has changed since you last saw your medical or surgical physicians. You will be asked to confirm what type of surgery you are having and will be asked to sign consent for that surgery if you have not already done so. Your surgeon or one of his or her assisting physicians will come to speak to you and to sign your surgical site. This is simply a safeguard to confirm where on your body the surgery will be performed. At this time, you will also meet your anesthesiologist, who will discuss what type of anesthesia you will receive.
The anesthesiologist will then review your medical history and chart, while confirming the correct site of an operation, and will explain the anesthetic plan, which will most likely be done under an interscalene block. After having all of your questions answered, you will be presented with the anesthesia consent form.
The Operating and Recovery Rooms
- Anesthesia/Surgery: After your consultation with the anesthesiologist, you will be taken to the operating room by your nurse. Once there, your anesthesiologist will measure your blood pressure and heart rate and provide extra oxygen via a tiny tube under your nose. He/she will then begin giving you sedative medication. One of the forms of anesthesia discussed above will be administered, and the surgery will begin. When the surgery is complete, your surgeon may speak with your family and you will be taken to the recovery room.
- Recovery: After waking up from the sedation, you may notice a few differences than when you went to sleep. First, you probably won’t be able to feel most of your arm. Next, you’ll notice that your voice is a bit hoarse. Lastly, you may feel some chest heaviness, which is normal after an interscalene block. Your recovery room nurse will determine when you can have something to eat. After a light snack and a drink, you’ll be able to see your family members.
After postoperative instructions and prescriptions for pain are administered, you can go home. As your anesthesiologist will explain, you may feel some numbness in your shoulder and fingers, which can last until the next morning. As the numbness wears off, you will start to take the prescription given to you for pain as instructed.
