Day of Surgery with Seattle Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder

This is your big day! You will arrive about an hour before your surgery start time. I will see you, answer any questions you may have and do any necessary marking of the operative site. You will meet the anesthesiologist who will answer any questions you may have about anesthesia. We also would like to meet your caregiver before surgery and let them know what to expect when they see you in the recovery room. If your surgery is several hours in duration, we can give your caregiver some ideas how to while away the time in our beautiful city of Seattle.

Once in the operating room, the nursing staff and anesthesiologist will attend to getting you comfortable on the operating table. Don’t be alarmed if you are asked your name, your surgeon and your procedure several times. Our memories are just fine but this checking and double checking is part of our safety protocol! Our staff and anesthesiologist will place EKG pads on your chest or back, a blood pressure cuff on your arm, some massage stockings on your legs and get you tucked in with a warm, comfy blanket. We’ll even put a nice, warm hat on your head to help keep you warm. The anesthesiologist will start an intravenous line in your hand or arm and administer medications to help you relax. If you don’t see my masked face hovering around, don’t worry. I’m just outside the door scrubbing my hands.

If you have had a general anesthetic, you will have very little appreciation for the passage of time. You may wake up wondering when we’re going to start only to hear from us that we are already done! If you have had intravenous sedation and local anesthetic, you may be just a little groggy.

You will be observed for an hour or so before you are discharged. The nurse will go over post-operative instructions with you and your caregiver. If you have had any sedation, you must go home with a responsible adult. Don’t plan on going home by yourself in a taxi. We won’t let you!

Occasionally, we will have you hire a nursing service to stay with you the first 24 hours. We have worked with Vital RNs (www.vitalrns.com) for many years. This nursing service that serves the Greater Seattle area, provides excellent and personalized care that, in my opinion, exceeds the care that you would receive in the hospital. If we recommend Vital RNs, we help you set that up well before your surgery date.

I see most of my patients within a day or two of surgery to make sure everything is healing as expected. Since you will be on pain medication, please make sure you have transportation to your first few post-operative appointments. We will do our best to schedule your first couple of post-operative visits so you can avoid the sometimes nasty Seattle rush hours.