Surgical Services at Cedar Park Regional Medical Center

Cedar Park Regional Medical Center Surgical Services encompass all care prior, during and immediately following a patient’s surgery. The Surgical Services team is specially trained and certified to prepare patients for and assist physicians with surgery to ensure a safe and swift recovery. Both inpatient and outpatient surgeries are performed by CPRMC Surgical Services Department.

Prior to surgery, patients are brought to one of our private rooms on the Pre-Operative Unit. The unit is staffed with registered nurses specially trained to prepare patients for their specific surgery. At this time the anesthesiologist and surgeon will review final details of the surgery with the patient and family and answer questions. We encourage family and friends to stay with the patient until it is time for surgery. Each pre-op room has a bathroom and the unit provides keyed lockers for storing patients belongings securely.

Surgery is performed in one of the hospital’s six Surgical Super Suites – a 650 square foot operating room equipped with the most advanced surgical equipment and fully integrated digital diagnostic imaging technology. Surgeons, anesthesiologist, nurses, and surgical techs make up our highly trained and well-practiced surgical team.

During surgery, patients’ friends and family are invited to wait in the Surgery Waiting Room. This comfortable area offers a quiet setting to read and relax or make phone calls. It is equipped with flat screen TVs, a play station for children, and a private restroom. Hot, fresh coffee is also served in this area. The waiting room staff and volunteers are there to serve as a liaison between the patient’s family and the Surgical Services nursing staff and can answer questions and get updates as needed.

After surgery, patients are brought to the Post-Operative Unit (Recovery). Here patients recover from surgery under the watchful eye of registered nurses trained in post-operative patient care. In this unit, the nurses have constant visual contact with their patients and are never more than just a few steps from their bedside. During recovery the anesthesiologist and nurse will confer often as they monitor the patient progress. It is during this time that the surgeon and or nurse will typically meet with the waiting family to update them on the patient’s progress.

From the Post-Operative Unit, those undergoing outpatient surgery will be released to go home when they are determined by the nurse and physician to be medically stable. These patients will receive post-operative instructions from their nurse. They will also receive a follow-up phone call one or two days after surgery. Surgery patients requiring a post-operative inpatient stay will be taken to an inpatient room when they are medically stable. Those patients will recuperate under the care of a registered nurse on the appropriate unit - ICU, progressive care, or post-surgical unit. The nurse will work with the surgeon, and other physicians if necessary, to prepare the patient for a timely discharge.

Interesting Facts about Surgical Services at Cedar Park Regional Medical Center:

• While the typical surgery room is 450 to 500 square feet, the six operating rooms at Cedar Park Medical are each 650 square feet.
• The rooms have rubber flooring to prevent leg fatigue for surgical staff and advanced lighting. Each room is set up to accommodate high definition video and for minimally invasive surgeries, the suites are equipped with the ability to take pictures and record the procedure digitally. The patient can even get a recording of his or her procedure on a zip drive.
• Cedar Park Regional is the first hospital in Texas to utilize a new technology designed to help prevent surgical sponges from being accidentally left in the patient. All sponges are coated with a special chip and each patient is scanned before they leave the operating room.
• Another interesting feature is that while air in the average operating room is exchanged 20 times per hour, the air here is exchanged 40 times per hour.
• The hospital currently does all types of surgery except for open heart and craniotomies; however, those procedures will be added in the future.
• Currently, there are more than 30 experienced surgeons at Cedar Park Regional Center. Three hundred doctors have applied for privileges at the hospital.