Child Eye Care Associates, LLC
Pediatric & Adolescent Ophthalmology
Adult Eye Muscle Disorders
Sophia Fang, MD Shawn Goodman, MD David Wheeler, MD Julie Yu, MD
Alexandra Bavasi, OD Sally Murray, CO
Preparing for Your Child's Eye Muscle Surgery
A pre-operative clearance: your child needs an evaluation by your pediatrician pre-operatively.
If your child has a cold, especially with a cough, or is running a fever or has another illness within 2 weeks of surgery, please call our office. We may need to reschedule the surgery for the safety of your child.
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The day of surgery:
Your child must not have anything to eat or drink in the morning before surgery. If there are essential medications your child takes in the morning, a tiny sip of water to swallow pills is all that is allowed.
Dress your child in comfortable clothes that do not require pulling over the head. You may bring an attachment object (blanket, favorite stuffed toy, pacifier) to the hospital.
Be at the hospital 1-1/2 hours before the scheduled surgery time.
What should you tell your child about surgery?
This depends on the age of your child. Children who are old enough to understand should be told that they will be going to the hospital for the day, and why. Children should be encouraged to ask questions and they should be answered simply and positively. The hospital experience does not need to be frightening. A visit ahead of time to the hospital and the outpatient surgery ward can be very helpful. Call the hospital for information concerning special tours for children.
Special preparations for surgery:
Bathe your child and wash their hair the night before surgery.
Unless directed otherwise, your child shouldn’t eat or drink anything after midnight of the day before surgery. Food or liquid in the stomach can cause complications with anesthesia.
Your child may bring a favorite toy or blanket, and may wear pajamas or regular clothes in the morning. We suggest that you bring clothes that will easily slip on over the head, or that button down the front. It helps if children with long hair have it put into braids in the morning.
What about insurance?
Please make certain that the insurance information you have given us is current and correct. If your family has more than one insurance let us know. Our office will contact your insurance company and request prior authorization for the surgery and information about your coverage for surgery. However, ultimately the responsibility for payment of fees is yours. Check with your insurance company regarding any exclusions, amount of coverage, deductibles, etc. Any balance not covered by the insurance is due to our office within 30 days of the first billing. Please speak to the office billing specialist if you have any concerns regarding the financial aspect of surgery or if you need to make financial arrangements.
Preparing for Adult Eye Muscle Surgery
A pre-operative physical exam within 30 days of your scheduled surgery date is required by the anesthesiologist in preparation for surgery. Please make an appointment for this with your primary care doctor. Please ask your doctor to send us the written report of your exam, your test results and a list of your medications. Your doctor also needs to specify any particular recommendatons regarding your medical conditions, for the upcoming surgery. For example, if you have diabetes, or have asthma, or are on anticoagulants, your eye doctor and anesthesiologist need to know.
An ECG within the 6 months prior to surgery: For surgery at Legacy Emanuel, if you are 50 years old or more. For surgery scheduled at Providence St. Vincent Hospital, or at Casey Eye Institute if you are 65 or older.
An ECG done in the prior 6 months is required for any patient over 18 who has high blood pressure, heart disease, or has had a heart attack or stroke.
If you have kidney disease, you need the following blood tests: electrolytes, BUN, creatinine.
If you take diuretics for hypertension, you will need a blood test for electrolytes
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Insurance Information:
Please make sure that the insurance information our office has for you is current and correct. If you have more than one insurance plan, let us know before surgery is scheduled. Please notify us of any changes in insurance that occur between the time surgery is scheduled and the actual surgery date.Our office will contact your insurance company for prior authorization and information concerning your coverage for the proposed surgery. Ultimately, however, the responsibility for payment of fees is yours. Any balance not covered by insurance is due within 30 days of billing. If insurance is not covering your surgery, we will ask for half payment from you prior to surgery. The remainder will be due 30 days after surgery. Please call and speak with your billing department if you have questions or wish to make financial arrangements.
The evening before surgery:
Please shower and wash your hair the evening before surgery. Do not eat or drink anything after midnight the night before surgery. Having food or liquid in your stomach can cause severe complications with anesthesia, and your surgery will be postponed or cancelled if you have eaten in the morning. It is permissible to take your usual medications with the smallest sip of water necessary to swallow them.
The day of surgery:
Do not put on any make-up.
Please bring all paperwork from our office with you to the hospital, and a list of your medications.
Arrive at the hospital 90 minutes before your scheduled surgery time.
You must arrange for someone to drive you home from the hospital. You should not drive for 24 hours after general anesthesia, and longer if you are taking pain medication stronger than Tylenol or Ibuprofen. We recommend that you arrange to have someone be with you for the first 24 hours after surgery.