What to Expect

Welcome! We hope to make your experience as easy as possible.

Preoperative Instructions:

• Surgery centers will finalize their schedule 1-2 business days prior to your surgery, so your surgery time is subject to change. Please confirm your arrival time with your surgery center the day before your surgery, if you have not heard from them (surgery center contact numbers are listed below)
• If you are on blood thinner medication (coumadin, warfarin, plavix, clopidogrel, heparin, pradaxa, dabigatran, xarelto, rivaroxaban, etc…) please tell us before your surgery. Often, this needs to be held 5 days prior to surgery.
• If you are on any GLP-1 inhibitors (Ozempic, Mounjaro, Wegovy, etc…) please let us know. It is important to stop these medications 5 days prior to surgery.
• If there is ANY chance that you are pregnant, please take a pregnancy test the day before surgery and notify the surgery center if positive.
• Type 1 insulin dependent diabetics: please let us know and consult pre-operatively with your endocrinologist or family doctor for a day of surgery plan.

Day of Surgery Instructions:

• Bring a photo ID
• Remove all rings and jewelry
• Do not eat or drink anything the morning of your surgery
• You can and should take your usual important medications with a small sip of water on the day of your surgery. You can safely continue to take any aspirin, baby aspirin, ibuprofen, Advil, Aleve, naproxen, or other similar prescription Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID).
• Do not plan to return to work or attend meetings on the day of your surgery.
• You will need a driver to take you home after surgery.

Anesthesia: We most commonly use one of three types of anesthesia for our surgeries.

• Local anesthesia with IV Sedation (known as Conscious Sedation or Twilight Anesthesia): With IV Sedation, you will get an IV placed at the surgery center, and you will be given medication in the operating room by the anesthesia team to make you sleepy. Once you are sedated, we will completely numb the surgery site with the local anesthetic. You will start to wake up when we are finishing with the surgery and putting on the bandages. The sedation medicine usually wears off quickly. The numbing medication usually lasts about 4-6 hours. There may be residual numbness or tingling of the hand or fingers the next day.
• Regional Anesthesia (also known as nerve block): You will get an IV sedation, as described above, and then the anesthesiologist will make your entire upper limb numb by blocking the nerves near your arm pit or collar bone. After the block is placed, you will be given more medication in the operating room by the anesthesia team to make you sleepy. You will wake up when we are finishing with the surgery and putting on the bandages. The numbing medication usually lasts 8-12 hours. Occasionally there might still be some residual numbness or tingling effect the next day. You will need a sling to protect your arm until the block wears off.
• General Anesthesia: You will get an IV and then given medication so that you will be completely asleep during the surgery. We usually inject a local anesthetic at the surgical incision at the end of the case, prior to you waking up. This usually proves 4-6 hours of pain relief post op.

Questions?

Dr. Maddox Patients:

• For questions about your medical condition, surgery, scheduling, insurance, work slips, or medication refills please contact our office (205-838-3090) and ask to speak with April, Dr. Maddox’s care coordinator

Dr. Woods Patients:

• For questions about your medical condition, surgery, scheduling, insurance, work slips, or medication refills please contact our office (205-838-3090) and ask to speak with Heather, Dr. Woods’s care coordinator

For questions about surgery arrival time or other day-of-surgery questions please contact your Surgery Center location directly.

• Outpatient Services East: 205-838-3888
• UAB St. Vincents East: 205-838-3537
• Grandview Medical Center: 205-971-1412

For billing questions, please call our billing department at 205-263-6868

For questions about your surgery center bill, co-pays or out-of-pocket costs please call your specific surgery center directly (above). For questions about your anesthesia bill, please call your anesthesia provided directly.