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Southern New Mexico
Surgery Center
2301 Indian Wells Rd. Suite B
Alamogordo, NM 88310
www.snmsc.org
Phone: 575.437.0890
Fax: 575.437.0905
Email: mfo@snmsc.org
Specialty Programs
Southern New Mexico Surgery Center is a multi-specialty center, providing excellent care to all of our patients. Click here to learn more about the various programs.
Post Surgery
Who wants to go to a hospital? We provide an alternative to a hospital stay that can be uncomfortable and disruptive to one's routine. Click here to learn more. | |
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Surgery Preparations
It is crucial that you do not eat or
drink anything, including water, after midnight, the night before your
surgery — unless you are directed to do so by a staff member at
the Southern New Mexico Surgery Center or your surgeon. Food in the
stomach can cause serious complications during anesthesia. This would
require the surgeon to cancel or postpone your surgery. Avoid alcohol
and tobacco for 24 hours prior to your surgery.
If you are taking medication for high blood pressure, diabetes, nervous disorders, blood thinners, or aspirin, ask your doctor about these medications and how they relate to your procedure.
For women, if you are pregnant, or think you may be pregnant, please notify your surgeon immediately. If you develop a cold, fever, respiratory infection or other illness prior to surgery, please call your doctor or the Southern New Mexico Surgery Center.
You will not be capable of driving yourself home following surgery. It is in your best interest to arrange for a responsible friend or family member to drive you home.
Eating, Drinking and Medications
For reasons of safety it is important to limit the intake of food and fluids before anesthesia and surgery.
Infants and Children may have formula or food until
midnight. They may also have formula until 6 hours before the time of
surgery. Infants who are breast fed may continue to do so until 4 hours
before the time of surgery. All infants and children less than 18 months
of age may have clear fluids (water, pedialyte, clear fruit juices and
sodas only) until 4 hours before the scheduled time of arrival. Children
over 18 months of age may eat until midnight of the night before surgery.
Adults may eat their regular diet until midnight. After midnight you must not eat or drink anything.
Patients having a history of heartburn, esophageal reflux, hiatal hernia, gastroparesis or similar conditions which impair gastric emptying should have no solid food after midnight.
Patients, parents and families should be very careful
to read, understand and follow these guidelines. Doing so helps to ensure
the comfort and safety of all patients.
Failure to follow these guidelines may result in cancellation of the planned surgery for safety reasons. During anesthesia, the presence of food or liquid in the stomach may lead to potentially life threatening pneumonia should the contents enter into your lungs.
Preoperative health questionnaire
Your treating physician's staff may provide you with a patient health
questionnaire. Alternatively, you may download and print the appropriate
health questionnaire from our web site. Please fill out and either mail
or fax (number is on the form) the health questionnaire to our center
as soon as possible. The forms are very important as they help us to
plan your care and save you time during your preoperative phone call 
and on the day of your admission to the center.
Preoperative phone call
One of our nurses will call you prior to your visit, usually one to
seven days prior to your surgery date. We will confirm your arrival time,
provide directions to the Southern New Mexico Surgery Center and answer your questions.
We will also discuss any health issues indicated on your patient health
questionnaire or obtain a health history if you have not already returned
your health questionnaire. The preoperative nurse will also emphasize
the importance of adhering to our No Eating and Drinking requirements.
Changes in your health
If you notice a change in your health (i.e., cough, cold, fever, etc.) it is IMPORTANT to notify your physician and the Southern New Mexico Surgery Center before your scheduled surgery date. 575.437.0890.
Our staff at the Southern New Mexico Surgery Center, recognize that your time is important. Prolonged waiting before a procedure is both unnerving and inconvenient to you and the people who have accompanied you to our center.
We utilize our computer data and requests of your
surgeons/physicians to construct a schedule that attempts to be as efficient
as possible. However there are many factors outside of our control that
can alter the progression of starting times, resulting in delay or change
(even forward) in the time of your procedure.
Example of these factors are:
- Prolongation of a surgery before your procedure, whether at our center or another facility where your surgeon might be working.
- Prolongation of office duties, delaying your surgeon's
arrival.
- Emergency procedures that your attending surgeon must address.
- Late arrivals of patients who were scheduled before you.
- Unanticipated events.
Whenever there is a change in your anticipated procedure starting time, our staff will keep you informed and provide updates. Please be sure to ask our staff if you have any questions regarding your surgical time.
We ask that you come in early before surgery to ensure that you have enough time to complete the admission process. This includes: admitting you to our preoperative area, institute monitoring and intravenous preparation, antibiotic administration (if applicable), and interview by your anesthesiologist and surgeon. We will minimize your waiting time and strive to maintain an efficient surgical schedule. If you do encounter a delay, please let us know what we can do to make your wait more comfortable.
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News & Media
Southern New Mexico Surgery Center is a recipient of the Apex Quality Award. This distinction recognizes outstanding healthcare organizations that demonstrate the highest levels of excellence in patient satisfaction throughout the United States in markets served by CTQ.
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