What is the typical patient experience for in-office procedures?

For patients experiencing issues with their upper extremities, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, The Hand to Shoulder Center in Fort Worth, Texas, provides patients with a much more cost-efficient and convenient way to get treatment.

Though some surgeries require traditional sedation or general anesthesia, many can be performed in-office with a simple nerve block. This allows patients to avoid the additional cost of those performed in a hospital operating room. In addition, without the need for complete sedation, the patient experience is much more streamlined, and recovery is often faster and less stressful.

A typical patient seeking treatment at The Hand to Shoulder Center is diagnosed and scheduled for their procedure as soon as the next day, if not within the week. In addition, preoperative virtual visits may be an option for patients traveling from outside the area.

On the day of an in-office procedure at The Center, the patient is given a small lidocaine injection in the exam room. Though this block does require the use of a needle, it is much smaller than the needles used for IV sedation in an operating room.

“We typically wait about 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the type of block, and then they walk themselves back to the surgical suite,” says Dr. Nathan Lesley, MD, one of the orthopedic surgeons at The Hand to Shoulder Center specializing in these micro surgeries.

There is no need for the patient to change clothes, as most can be done by simply rolling up a patient's sleeve before lying on the operating table. Then, a standard surgical prep is done on the patient’s outstretched arm, with sterile draping covering the patient while the procedure is performed. Many procedures can last as little as 15 minutes.

“Immediately following the closure of the skin, they just sit up. We make sure they are not light-headed before they start walking, and off they go,” adds Dr. Lesley.

As you can see, the typical patient experience is much less involved than surgeries performed with full sedation in a hospital setting. However, if that is preferred or needed, The Hand to shoulder Center provides those options.

Visit Hand to Shoulder Center online to learn more about the in-office procedures they perform and how they can save you time and money today.