Selecting a Date
Once you decide to proceed with surgery, our surgical coordinator will work with you to select a date at one of our hospitals, Northern Westchester Hospital or White Plains Hospital. Our coordinator will then work with your physicians to set up your pre-surgical clearance for your procedure. This includes your Internist but may include other Providers such as your Cardiologist, etc. You can always contact the team using our proprietary messaging system and access is given to you after your consultation.
Day of Surgery
The hospital will call you the day before surgery to let you know what time to come to the hospital. Please be sure to bring your MRI or CT Images to the hospital the day of surgery. When you get to the hospital, the surgical team will see you and review your surgery and symptoms. Surgery will not proceed until the team speaks with you and mark the site of the incision for verification purposes. The surgery is done in the hospital. Most patients who undergo 1-level or 2-level surgery are discharged the same day; patients undergoing a 3-level procedure usually stay overnight.
Surgical Procedure
The incision is on the front of the neck off to the left side usually only 1 ½ inches in length. Surgery is usually completed within 1 to 2 hours. After surgery, you are taken to the recovery room as you wake up from surgery and pain is controlled with medication. Once pain is controlled, you are transferred to the Same Day Surgery area and mobilized in preparation for discharge to home.
Discharge Instructions
- If you are feeling well, you will be discharged home. You must have someone with you to leave the hospital and you cannot get a ride on your own or use a taxi service.
- Pain medications will be called into your pharmacy so you can pick them up on the way home. You should only use the medications if necessary and convert to Tylenol as soon as possible.
- We will see you in the office a week after surgery to check on your incision and progress. You should call the office on the way home to set up your appointment.
- Leave the bandage on for 48 hours and then remove. Once you remove the bandage, you will see Steri-Strips and those you should leave on. We will remove the Steri-Strips when you come to your first postoperative visit.
- You can begin driving after 48 hours.
- We will discuss returning to work on your first postoperative visit.
- Physical Therapy usually starts after 4 weeks to allow you time to heal. If you have weakness before surgery, we start therapy sooner. If you had only preoperative pain only, you will not need therapy at all.
Follow Up After Surgery
We usually see patients at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 1 year after surgery evaluating you each time with an X-Ray done in the office.