Pediatric Surgical Associates
Initial Consultation
Your first visit to Pediatric Surgical Associates consists of meeting with the surgeon, talking about your child's current surgical problem and reviewing his or hers past medical history. You may want to make a list of all medical problems (for example: diabetes, allergies, congenital abnormalities, prior surgeries and hospitalizations) and current medicines that the doctors can have accurate records. After a detailed history is taken, the surgeon will perform a physical examination.
If you have any radiographs (x-rays), prior lab reports or information from your referring physician, please be sure to bring them for the surgeon to review and discuss the results. If your child has had x-rays or other studies performed at a facility other than Atrium Health Navicent, please arrange to pick up the studies in addition to the reports so that the films can be reviewed by your surgeon. Often the facility where these studies were performed will provide these images on a DVD.
After reviewing the history, examining your child, and reviewing pertinent labs/x-rays, the surgeon will talk to the child and appropriate family member(s) about the diagnosis and the next step in management. If the surgeon determines that your child is an appropriate candidate for surgery, he will discuss the surgical options, including the risks, complications and benefits of the procedure. Most conditions do not require immediate surgery, so our friendly staff will work with you to pick a date for surgery. You may want to bring your date book or talk with your spouse and/or family about future dates before you come to the visit. Each surgeon operates on specific days of the week at the main operating room or the outpatient center at Atrium Health Navicent, and we will do our best to work with everyone's schedule.
No matter how healthy your child is, he or she will require a pre-surgical evaluation, either by phone or in person. This evaluation helps to coordinate the surgery date, allows you to ask questions, and prevents delays the day of surgery.
Fortunately, some problems do not require surgery. The surgeon will talk with you about treatments options, further testing, and appropriate follow-up with him and/or your referring physician.
Day of Your Surgery
Prior to the day of surgery, you will receive a phone call from the hospital staff informing you of where and what time to arrive at Atrium Health Navicent. In addition, you will be informed of when to stop feeding your child. Our goal is to provide as safe of a surgical experience as possible. Therefore, it is very important to pay particular attention as to when to stop solid food and clear liquids the night before surgery. A major cause of cancellations of surgeries occurs when the child eats or drinks something too close to the time of surgery.
In addition, if your child has experienced any change in his or her health (for example: sore throat, cough, fever, or wheezing) since visiting the surgeon, please call the clinic (478-633-8383) or notify the hospital staff when they call you prior to surgery. Certain conditions may make it unsafe to perform your child's procedure and require us to postpone the surgery. Finally, it is important to be on time the day of surgery so that your child's procedure and other children's procedures are not delayed or cancelled.
After Your Surgery
After the operation, your surgeon will meet with you to discuss the operation and what to expect. You will be provided information on such topic as activity levels, when the child may bathe, wound care, and the need for a follow-up visit in the office. Please feel free to write down a list of questions to ask the surgeon at this time.
In addition, please do not hesitate to call the office (478-633-8383) anytime day or night should you have additional questions or concerns.