With advances in surgical techniques and technology, many procedures can now be performed on an ambulatory (outpatient) basis—so you can go home the same day as your operation.
Physicians perform hundreds of outpatient procedures each year in our Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) in Portland. They’re supported by a skilled team of anesthesia providers (including doctors and nurse anesthetists), nurses, surgical technologists, sterile processing technicians, and physician assistants who specialize in care in the ambulatory setting.
The outpatient procedures we perform
Spectrum Orthopaedics surgeons perform thousands of outpatient procedures each year—making them one of the most experienced ambulatory surgery teams in all of Maine. Our expert surgeons perform a wide variety of procedures at our ASC. Below is more information on procedures we most commonly perform.
- ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) reconstruction: The ACL is one of the key ligaments that help stabilize the knee joint
- Arthroscopic joint surgery: Arthroscopy enables your surgeon to see inside a joint and repair some types of damage with pencil-thin surgical instruments, without making a large incision. It can be used on hand, wrist, ankle, foot, knee, shoulder, and hip joints.
- Carpal tunnel release and trigger fingers
- Foot surgery (Portland only)
- Fracture repair
- Joint replacement (Portland only)
- Rotator cuff repair
We also partner with community-based physicians so they may perform surgical procedures in our ambulatory surgery center. This partnership provides many advantages for their practice and patients, such as convenience and a highly-skilled, experienced ambulatory surgery team that support all procedures performed in our ASC.
Where Spectrum performs ambulatory orthopaedic surgery
For your convenience, Spectrum’s orthopaedic surgeons perform outpatient procedures at facilities in southern and western Maine.
These include hospital-affiliated outpatient surgery facilities as well as our state-of-the-art Spectrum ASC in Portland. Our ASC is:
- Accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), having met rigorous national standards for quality and safety
- CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)-certified which means that the facility meets high standards related to anesthesia, operating and recovery rooms, medical staff, and nursing services in order to be reimbursed by Medicare
Spectrum Healthcare Partners also owns and manages an ASC in Auburn.
What to expect from ambulatory surgery
At Spectrum, our goal is to ensure you have a safe, positive and personalized experience at every step of your outpatient surgery:
You’ll have a preoperative interview where we’ll review your medical history, explain what to expect, and answer any questions you may have.
- You’ll receive written information about your procedure, your care team, what to do in the days prior to your surgery, and how to help yourself heal after you go home
- Depending on your individual medical needs, you may be asked to have preoperative testing such as lab work or an EKG
- You may be asked to schedule an appointment with your primary care doctor, cardiologist, or other specialist to have medical clearance before surgery. We want to be sure that you are as healthy as can be to have your ambulatory surgery and can go home safely
- You won’t be able to drive yourself home after your surgery, so please be sure to make arrangements to get home after your discharge.
You will be required to have pre-operative COVID testing, even if you’re fully vaccinated. Your COVID test will be booked at the time that your surgery is scheduled. The test will be booked as close to your surgery/procedure as possible and is done right here in the office.
The test is a swab that touches the back of your throat. You will be asked to self-quarantine between the time of your test and your surgery to decrease the risk of exposure after testing. You will only get a call from us if the test result is positive. If you do not hear from us, your result was negative.
We appreciate your help, cooperation, and understanding in keeping all of us healthy. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for trusting us with your care.
When you arrive at the surgery center, a nurse will admit you, check your vital signs, review your medications and start your IV.
- You will see your surgeon to review the plan again and have the time to ask any final questions
- You and your surgeon will mark the surgical site as well as review the consent form to confirm the planned procedure
- For cases that do not require any anesthesia care (which we call “local only” or “wide-awake procedures”), you will not have to recover from anesthesia after your procedure. Instead, you are given a local anesthetic at the operative site to numb the area being worked on. If you are a candidate for this, it will be discussed with you and your provider
- For surgical cases that require anesthesia, your Spectrum anesthesia provider will review your medical history, and discuss the anesthetic plan with you before proceeding
- When you’re ready for surgery, you may be given IV sedation to help you relax
- If you need a nerve block for your procedure to help with pain control, the nurse will assist the anesthesiologist prior to the surgery
Throughout your procedure:
- You will be taken to the operating room and helped onto the operating room table, where your surgery will be performed
- Your team will secure monitors to you to watch your heart rate, blood pressure, temperature and oxygen levels
- The surgical team will verify your procedure with you before administering anesthesia
- The operating room team – which includes your surgeon, anesthesia provider, circulating nurse, surgical technologist and sometimes a first assistant, such as an advanced practice provider – will be monitoring you throughout the procedure
You’ll be moved to the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) and be monitored as you recover from the anesthetic
- Even though you may not remember it, your team will wake you before leaving the operating room
- Your nurse, surgeon, and anesthesiologist will continue to oversee your care, assessing and treating pain or other side effects
- Once you are fully awake, you’ll be given a light snack and drink to ensure you’re feeling ok
- When you feel ready to go home, you’ll receive instructions about activity, diet, pain medications, and other after-care instructions specific to your procedure
- You will not be able to drive yourself home, so make sure you have transportation arrangements in place
- A member of the surgical team will contact you the day after your procedure to see how you’re doing
The advantages of ambulatory surgery
Outpatient surgery, whether done at Spectrum’s ambulatory surgery center or the outpatient surgery department of a hospital, can offer some significant benefits:
- Easier recovery: The comfort and familiarity of being in your own home usually makes the recovery process easier and less stressful than a hospital stay
- Lower cost: Because you have a shorter stay with no hospital room charges and related costs, having a procedure performed at an ASC is typically less expensive than inpatient surgery
- Less risk of complications: Many studies have shown that people who have outpatient surgery in an ambulatory surgery center have less risk of complications than people who have surgery in a hospital
Questions?
If you have questions about ambulatory surgery, please: Contact Us
