Orthopedic Surgery in Sugar Land

Organizing a Surgery

• Surgical Scheduling:
  • A tentative surgical date is typically assigned during your clinical consultation for surgery or later over the phone
  • The actual order and timing of your surgery is not determined until the day before
  • A nurse from the hospital will call you the day before surgery between 2-5 pm to give you the exact expected time of arrival for surgery
• Insurance Approval of Surgery:
  • Once you decide to have your surgery we will initiate the process of securing pre-approval from your insurance company
  • Depending on your insurance plan this process can take 1-3 business days
  • Dr. Dewan’s assistant will inform you once approval has been obtained
  • Your insurance benefits will be verified by our office and by the hospital and you will be contacted if there are any payments due prior to the surgery; this could include payments toward your deductible and/or co-insurance
• Anesthesia Consultation:
  • Once Dr. Dewan’s assistant confirms your pre-approval of surgery, please contact the Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital at 281-274-7087 to schedule your pre-op/pre-admission appointments
  • Unless instructed otherwise, you must complete these visits before your surgery or the surgery will be cancelled
  • At your pre-op/pre-admission appointment you will sign consent forms, discuss anesthesia, review financial matters, and possibly have blood tests/EKG, if requested by anesthesia
• Medical Clearance for Surgery:
  • Dr. Dewan’s staff will review your past medical history and instruct you if medical clearance for your surgery is needed from your primary care doctor and/or cardiologist
  • When clearance is needed, contact the appropriate physician(s) immediately and schedule appointments with them to review your medical risks for surgery
  • Surgery cannot be performed until the requested clearance papers and test results have been received by our office- no exceptions
  • If you do not have a primary care doctor and/or cardiologist, we can recommend ones at Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital to see
• Cancelling/Rescheduling Surgery:
  • If you are unable to have your surgery for any reason, please contact Dr. Dewan’s office as soon as possible
  • If you develop any illness prior to surgery, please update our office
  • If you fail to show up for your surgery without a reasonable explanation or advance notice, then Dr. Dewan’s office reserves the right to not schedule any future surgery

Preparing for Surgery

• Anesthesia Requirements-
  • Nothing to eat or drink after midnight the night before surgery, including water and coffee
  • Safe anesthesia requires your stomach to be absolutely empty before surgery
  • Depending on the medications you are taking, the pre-admitting nurse may make some changes to these instructions
• Medication Management-
  • Stop ALLaspirin products, anti-inflammatory medications, and herbal supplements seven days prior to your surgery, or as advised by your doctor.
    • The anti-inflammatory medications to avoid include any over-the-counter brands such as Advil, Aleve, Ibuprofen, Motrin, as well as any anti-inflammatory medication prescribed by your doctor
    • If you take a baby aspirin (81 mg tablet), confirm with your primary care doctor that it is okay to discontinue it in the peri-operative period
  • Stop taking diet pills at least two weeks prior to surgery. These types of medications can increase the risk of bleeding and/or cause complications with anesthesia
  • Management of blood thinners such as Coumadin/Warfarin, Eliquis, Plavix, etc. needs to be discussed with your primary care doctor in advance. Depending on the reason you need the blood thinners, these drugs are either completely suspended or monitored closely in the peri-operative period.
  • The hospital center will also give you additional information regarding medications that will need to be discontinued prior to surgery. If you have any questions regarding any medications you are currently taking, please contact Dr. Dewan’s assistant or the pre-admitting office at the hospital.
  • Tylenol (Acetaminophen) may be taken prior to surgery if needed for pain relief, headaches, etc.
• Surgery Center Location:
  • Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, Main Pavillion, 16655 Southwest Freeway, Sugar Land, TX 77479
  • On the day of surgery, please arrive at the specified time
  • Park or use the complementary valet parking at the Main Pavilion Building Entrance
  • Take the elevator to the 2nd Floor and follow signs to surgery
  • You will need someone to drive you home when you are discharged; the facility will not allow you to drive yourself. The facility will not release you to a cabdriver.

Post-operative Period

• Discharge Instructions-
  • After surgery you will receive detailed discharge instructions for your specific operation
  • This includes information about medications, diet, dressing/wound care, swelling, activity restrictions, driving limitations, exercise, follow up care, and emergency contact information
• Billing Questions-
  • After surgery, you will receive separate bills from your surgeon, surgical assistant, hospital/ surgical center, anesthesiologist and any other specialty physicians or suppliers of medical equipment that were involved in your surgery and hospital care
  • Please contact our billing department regarding any questions about charges.
  • You will need to contact the specific providers regarding questions about any specific services rendered
• FMLA/Disability Forms-
  • If you need any information regarding post-operative care, recovery time, occupation restrictions or need assistance in completion of disability or FMLA forms, please contact Dr. Dewan’s medical assistant
  • Beware, some disability forms require a significant amount of time for our office to complete. In such cases, we reserve the right to assess a nominal fee to cover the resources this may incur.

If you have any questions regarding your surgery scheduling, please call Camilla at 281-275-0470