Scotland Orthopedics |
Treatment
Your treatment may commerce in the office by use of injections, casting, medications or referral to the physical therapist for physical therapy modalities.
Some problems will require surgery. We will explain the procedure for you in detail. Please do not hesitate to ask your physician questions if you do not understand what is to be done. If the physicians or staff use words which are totally familiar to us, but unfamiliar to you, please ask for further explanation. We perform surgery at Scotland Memorial Hospital in operating rooms specially equipped for our surgical procedures. The staff has been specially trained in the particular needs and requirements of orthopedic surgical procedures. Your surgery may be performed as an in-patient or an outpatient.
Outpatient Surgery
Outpatient surgery refers to surgery performed at the hospital, but does not involve spending the night at the hospital. You will report to the hospital on the day of your surgery and go home that afternoon. It will require a visit to the hospital a day, or a few days, before surgery to have laboratory work performed and to meet with the anesthesiologist. The day you are scheduled to have your laboratory work performed and to consult with the anesthesiologist, you will first need to come by our office to pick up your orders and hospital paper work. If your outpatient surgery is scheduled for Monday, you will need to come by the office on Friday as the office is closed on weekends. Many of our patients are from far away and we can frequently arrange to avoid the pre-operative visit to avoid undue travel problems. Please plan to be at the hospital for the entire day as the preparation, surgery, and recovery period does take time. Be prepared to wait, like consultations, surgical procedures are of unpredictable duration. We perform many operations during a given day and will spend whatever time is necessary for each patient. Do not take anything by mouth after midnight the night before your surgery. This may be dangerous during the administration of anesthesia.
In-Patient Surgery
If surgery is arranged as an in-patient, in most instances you will be admitted the day before surgery. It is best that you arrive at the hospital in the early afternoon in order for all lab work, x-rays, and any other pre-operative work to be completed.
Casts
The cost of casting material is usually reflected in the cost of your fracture or surgical care. However, if a cast is damaged, abused, or changed at the patient's request, extra billing will be required as cast material is extremely expensive. For your convenience, we also stock a supply of orthopedic appliances and braces which are billed at cost, plus a handling fee of these items. This is provided as a service for our patients. Although this may increase your bill at the office, we have repeatedly demonstrated that the overall savings are significant when compared to purchasing these appliances at medical supply houses. Most importantly, it assures us that the patient is obtaining the appropriate appliance for that patient's particular condition.
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