Having a Procedure

Important Information

Here is some helpful information and answers to questions you may have about having a procedure.

How to Prepare

Most procedures are outpatient.

  1. Eating and Drinking
    We request that you not eat or drink anything for four hours before a procedure.

  2. Medication, including pain medication and blood thinners
    If you take blood thinners, we ask that you stop them before the procedure. Coumadin should be stopped three (3) days before the procedure. We may obtain a clotting study (a PT and INR) to ensure that your blood levels are low enough. Plavix or Aspirin should be stopped one week before the procedure.

    Always check with the physician prescribing your blood thinner that it is safe for you to be off it for that length of time. Sometimes, the risk of being off the medication is too great to warrant doing the procedure. In rare cases, we can start heparin to replace the other blood thinner.

    You may take your other medications, including pain medications, with a sip of water, according to your regular schedule.

  3. Clothing
    Wear comfortable clothing. If you are having a low back procedure, an elastic waistband is often convenient.

  4. Getting to and from the procedure (Do you need a driver?)
    If you are receiving sedation, you must have someone drive for you. If you do not receive sedation, then you may drive yourself.

    We cannot send you home in a taxicab unless you are accompanied by a responsible adult.

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What to Expect

After entering the facility, you will be checked in. You will be taken to the preoperative area. Depending on the type of procedure, such as a procedure on your neck, you may change into a hospital gown.

If you are having sedation, an IV will be started.

At the time of the procedure, the nurse will walk you into the procedure room, unless you are having a procedure in the operating room, in which case you would be wheeled in on a gurney. Once in the room, you would get onto your back or stomach, as appropriate, and then have a blood pressure cuff, an EKG and an oxygen monitor placed. If you are having sedation, you would receive it at this point.

We would clean your back off and then numb up the area where we are going to do the procedure. We will perform the procedure and you would go back to the recovery room.

At Pacific Coast Pain Management Center, Dr. Helm, and associates will use contemporary techniques to diagnose and treat your pain. If you live in the Laguna Hills or greater Orange County area, call today to schedule your consultation with one of our specialists.

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