Dr. Vonda Wright MD

Orthopedic Surgeon

A Patient’s Guide to Hip Arthroscopy – Day of Surgery

You’ve arrived at the day of your hip arthroscopy. Now what? The following will give you an idea of what to expect from the moment you arrive at the surgery center until you leave to head home.

  1. You will arrive at the surgery center or hospital usually 2 hours before your surgery is scheduled to begin. Be sure to bring your insurance information, photo identification, and a list of any medications (and their dosages) with you. Upon arrival you will check in at the Same Day Surgery unit where a nurse will bring you to a room to change into a hospital gown and he/she will get some basic health information from you. You’re family member and/or friend that brought you here will be allowed to keep you company during this time.
  2. When you’re surgery time is approaching nearer, the pre-operative unit next to the operating room will call you down to have a member of the anesthesia team meet with you. You’re family member and/or friend will not be permitted to this area (if you are under the age of 18, however, your parent(s) will be able to come with you). There is a family waiting room for them to make themselves comfortable and wait for you until your surgery is over.
  3. Once down in the Pre-Op area, you will be assigned to a nurse who will go over your medical history, the planned surgery, and make sure that all the necessary steps are taken. You will also meet a member of the anesthesia team there. They will again confirm the procedure you are having done and verify the correct surgical site (i.e. left hip or right hip). They will discuss with you the anesthesia you will receive and have you sign a consent form allowing them to perform the anesthesia. They will place an IV into your arm to allow for fluids and medications to be given while you’re in surgery and until you are discharged home. This is also where you will see a member from the surgical team. This may be Dr. Wright or a member of her surgical team (sports medicine fellow, resident, or PA (physician assistant)). Your surgical consent will be verified and the correct surgical site will be marked to confirm which hip is being operated on.
  4. When the operating room you will have your procedure done in is ready, you will then be taken back to the operating room on a bed. You will be taken back by a member of the anesthesia team as well as the nurse who will be in the OR with you. You will be given a surgical cap to wear back to the operating room to help maintain sterility.
  5. Once in the operating room, you will move onto the actual operating table. This table is narrower than the bed you came in on, so be sure to follow instructions of the room staff, their job is to keep you completely safe. When you are on the operating table, you will be given an oxygen mask to wear which provides your airways with oxygen. The mask does NOT contain the anesthesia, just plain oxygen. The anesthesiologist will then administer your anesthesia by injecting certain medications into your IV while you continue to breathe normally with the mask. You will gradually drift off to sleep.
  6. You will awaken from anesthesia after your procedure is completed. You will notice that you will have a bulky hip dressing on, an ice cooling pad, as well as a metal hip brace. You will also have a pair of black velcro boots on with a black round pad in between your feet to prevent your hip from rolling outwards or inwards. Lastly, you will have thigh-high stockings on both legs. These are compressive stockings which help prevent the occurrence of blood clots.
  7. After you leave the operating room, you will be taken to the first recovery room where your recovery room nurse will monitor your vital signs as you wake up from your anesthesia.
  8. Once you are awake and all your vital signs look good, you will be taken back upstairs to continue to recover. Here you can once again see your family and/or friends who came with you. You will also begin to drink and eat at this time and will be allowed to go the bathroom.
  9. Once you are feeling awake, can tolerate some crackers/juice, and are able to walk on your crutches, you will be allowed to head home! You will be given prescriptions for 1) Pain Medication, 2) an Antibiotic, and 3) a blood thinner such as Aspirin pills or Lovenox injections (which would require a nurse to visit you at home once to instruct you how to give yourself the injections).