What to expect

• We recommend scheduling this appointment for seven days prior to your procedure. Your primary care doctor can do the history and physical. Please have your physician's office fax your history and physical report to 651.241.5073. Your procedure will be delayed or cancelled if your history and physical are not completed.
• Request a copy of the results of any other tests done within six months of your surgery (stress test, CT scans, x-rays, MRIs, etc.).
• Notify your doctor if you experience a significant change in your health. Examples include experiencing a cold, fever, sore throat, cough or rash. Be sure to communicate your special needs with your care team, if necessary

You will receive a call from the hospital's admitting department for preadmission information. Please have the following available:

• Insurance numbers.
• Name, address and phone number of your employer.
• Your Social Security number.

One to three days before your procedure, a St. Francis patient registrar will call you, or you may call to preregister at 952.428.2500. They will review:

• Instructions for day of surgery.
• Your medical history.
• Medications you will take the morning of your procedure.
• Your paperwork.

Register for MyChart.

St. Francis, Allina Health and Park Nicollet use MyChart for secure online health care management. To see information about your hospital or clinic visit, please set up and log in to the appropriate MyChart account.

• If you need an interpreter, St. Francis will arrange one free of charge. To comply with federal standards, St. Francis discourages family members of the patient serving as the interpreter.
• If your procedure does not require an overnight stay, you must arrange for an adult to drive you home and stay with you for 24 hours. For your safety, you will not be able to drive or leave the hospital alone.
• Avoid smoking, vaping, street drugs or alcohol the day before your surgery.

• Age two years to adult: No solid foods, milk products or juices with pulp eight hours prior to your scheduled procedure time. You may have clear liquids until four hours before your procedure and then nothing by mouth. Clear liquids allowed are water, black coffee, tea and apple juice.
• Do not chew gum, take lozenges, eat hard candy, use chewing tobacco or vape before your procedure.
• You may brush your teeth and rinse your mouth.
• St. Francis is a smoke-free facility. We ask you to refrain from smoking after midnight on the day of your procedure, and avoid any alcohol or street drugs for 24 hours prior to your procedure.

Take the following medications the morning of your procedure. Take medications with a small sip of water only.

• Pain medication, if needed.
• Heart medications.
• Blood pressure medications.
• Seizure medications.
• Asthma medications (please bring your inhalers with you to the hospital).
• Check with your doctor if you take insulin.

• Bring copies of any medical history, physical, lab reports or x-ray images.
• Bring your insurance cards and Social Security number.
• Bring necessary toiletries (if you are staying).
• Bring a container for glasses, dentures or hearing aids. You will remove these items just before your procedure.
• Remove all body piercing jewelry and makeup before your procedure.
• Leave all jewelry, purses, wallets or anything else of value at home.

Surgical Services is located on the first floor of St. Francis.

Enter the hospital through the main entrance at 1455 St. Francis Ave. Stop at the patient registration desk in the main lobby. Patient registration opens at 6 a.m.

Walk through the main hallway, past the Diagnostic Imaging waiting area and continue straight past the Lab and Chapel. The surgical information desk and waiting area are located on your left. A volunteer staff member will greet you. If a volunteer is not there, there will be instructions on how to reach the pre-op desk.

You are required to sign a consent form for your surgery and your anesthesia.

Patients younger than 18 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian who will be responsible for signing the consent form.

You will be brought to the pre-op area, where your records will be reviewed and your temperature, pulse and blood pressure checked.

You will meet your surgeon, your anesthesiologist and other surgical staff members. Any intravenous (IV) fluids necessary for your surgery may be started at this time.

While you are in surgery, family or friends may wait in the surgical guest lounge, which is located on the first floor near the pre-op area. Your surgeon will meet them there after your surgery.

After your surgery is completed, you will be moved to an area where you can recover from the anesthesia. A registered nurse will care for you as the effects of the anesthesia wear off.

• You may feel some pain and nausea after surgery. Your nurse will be there to help you.
• Don't be alarmed—you may not remember many of the events on the day of surgery due to the medications used.
• When appropriate, you will be moved to a room where your family can be with you for the remainder of your recovery.

Your length of stay in the hospital depends on the procedure performed and your surgeon's instructions.

When you are ready to leave the hospital, a nurse will talk with you and give you a written summary of your surgeon's instructions about rest, diet and medications to be taken on the days following your surgery.

Understanding and remembering all the information you need to know after being discharged from a hospital after surgery, delivery or illness can be confusing. MyChart provides online access once you get home for you to view your hospital visit summary, self-care instructions, signs and symptoms that indicate a worsening in your condition, who to call, and more.

If your procedure does not require an overnight stay, you must arrange for an adult to drive you home and stay with you for 24 hours. For your safety, you will not be able to drive or leave the hospital alone.

A nurse from St. Francis will call you within 24 hours of your discharge to check on your recovery.

Please call your surgeon if you develop any unexpected symptoms in the days following your discharge.