Central Maine Healthcare

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What to Expect with Surgery

From your first consultation through admission and recovery, Central Maine Healthcare is committed to making your surgical experience as smooth as possible. Understanding what to expect can ease any concerns and help you prep for success.

The type of surgery you have will determine your length of stay in the hospital. Inpatient procedures usually require an overnight stay and possibly more, so our team can monitor your recovery. If you’re scheduled for outpatient surgery, you’ll likely go home the same day with instructions for self-care.

Before Surgery

Pre-Admission Testing (P.A.T.)

Prior to your scheduled surgery, you will have an appointment with a member of our P.A.T. team, which can be held in our office or via a phone interview. This appointment can take up to two hours, and ensures we provide the safest and highest level of care.

A registered nurse will review your health history, medications and allergies, and complete an anesthesia screening. We’ll also coordinate any additional testing you may need for your surgery, such as an EKG (electrocardiogram), X-ray and/or lab work.

Please bring the following information with you to your appointment or have it available during your phone interview:

  • Current list of medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, including dosage information
  • List of any allergies
  • List of any previous surgeries
  • Names and phone numbers of your primary care provider and any specialists you are seeing
  • Copy of Health Care Proxy or Living Will, if applicable

At this time, your nurse will also review pre-surgery instructions, including any eating restrictions, medication usage and more, and provide written instructions for further review following the appointment. We also encourage you to ask any and all questions.

One to two days before your procedure, your pre-admission nurse or another member of your care team will call you to confirm your surgery and arrival time, and answer any last-minute questions you might have.

Also, be sure to arrange for an adult to bring you to the hospital and take you home.

Insurance & Financial Assistance

Central Maine Healthcare accepts most major insurances. We will submit your bill to your provider or responsible party you designate when you register for surgery. While our billing teamwill make every effort to validate your coverage prior to your visit, individual insurance plans vary, so please review your plan. We’re happy assist you if you need help filling out your insurance forms.

As part of our mission, we provide access to medically necessary health care to all patients, regardless of their ability to pay. Learn more about our financial assistance program.

Day of Surgery

What to bring

  • Driver’s license or state identification card
  • Health insurance card(s), including supplemental insurance
  • Referral and pre-certification forms
  • Deductible and/or co-payment, if applicable
  • Recent test results, X-ray films or other relevant forms that your primary care provider surgeon has asked you to bring
  • Cases for eyeglasses, contact lenses, dentures and/or hearing aids
  • List of all of your medications, including vitamins and herbal supplements, their frequency and their doses—or the medications themselves in their original containers
  • Your documents for power of attorney, living will and advanced care planning, if you have them

Please do not bring valuables (large amounts of cash, laptop computers, etc.) or wear jewelry.

Arriving at the hospital

Please arrive with your adult companion about one and a half to two hours before your scheduled surgery to have time to register and prepare.

Surgery prep

After your admission, you’ll meet your surgery team, including your surgeon, nurses and anesthesiologists. Together, they’ll help prepare you for your procedure by:

  • Reviewing your medical history and current medical condition
  • Taking vital signs and providing gown and ID bracelet
  • Reviewing any allergies or past experiences with anesthesia.
  • Reviewing the surgery you have planned
  • Addressing any questions or concerns, and ensuring you feel comfortable and prepared

During your surgery

Along with your surgeon, you will have a dedicated team with you in the OR to monitor all aspects of your health and comfort. This team may include a surgical technician, registered nurse and anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist.

Waiting area for family and friends

Your loved ones have several places to stay during your surgery, including comfortable waiting rooms, on-site cafeterias, spiritual areas and more.

After Surgery

PACU (post-anesthesia care unit)

Each of our surgical centers is equipped with a designated unit for patients emerging from anesthesia. Patients are carefully assessed and monitored as they regain consciousness. The average stay for each patient is about 60 minutes.

If your procedure requires an overnight stay or recovery in the hospital, you will be transferred to a general hospital room for continued care and recovery before discharge. Your comfort is a top priority: most of our hospital rooms are private, with individual bathrooms and flexible visiting hours. Cable TV, phone and free Wi-Fi are available to keep patients connected. Your nursing team will monitor your pain level and help promote healing throughout your stay.

About 60 percent of our patients have same-day surgery, and are discharged a few hours after surgery. In that case, you’ll move from the PACU and back to our dedicated same-day surgery unit. Your nurse will provide detailed instructions on your recovery process, and your doctor will give you any needed medicine for pain control and make sure you are stable enough to go home.

Medical Surgical Nurses

For surgical patients requiring more extensive follow-up care, our hospitals include a dedicated medical-surgical nursing unit with a specially trained team members. These nurses are not only skilled in clinical care, but play an important role as educators—teaching patients how to care for themselves at home and recognize potential problems.

Discharge Instructions

Once you’ve been cleared to go home, your nurse will review your discharge instructions with you and your family member and will give you a packet with:

  • Written instructions
  • Follow-up information
  • Prescriptions and other medications
  • Emergency contacts

Please read this information carefully before you leave the hospital to make sure that you understand everything. Be sure to ask your surgeon or any team member if any information is unclear.

When you are ready to leave, we will escort and discharge you into the care of your adult companion. Do not drive a car, operate machinery or do anything that requires your full concentration for at least 24 hours, unless otherwise instructed by your surgeon.

Rehabilitation & Ongoing Care

If you need physical or occupational therapy following your procedure, we offer personalized rehabilitation programs on both an inpatient and outpatient basis. We’ll work closely with you to create and achieve your goals and communicate regularly with your surgeon to ensure you’re progressing well.

Need a little longer to recover? Both Bridgton Hospital and Rumford Hospital offer swing bed programs for patients who need extra care following joint replacement or general surgery. Our dedicated team is here to help you regain strength, mobility and independence, so you can safely return home.

Types of Surgery We Offer

Whether your procedure is routine or complex, rest assured you’re in good hands at Central Maine Healthcare.

Many of our board-certified surgeons practice in highly specialized areas, with advanced training in everything from tumor removal to trauma, hernia repair to heart care. We perform many of these procedures using the latest minimally invasive techniques, often allowing you to go home the same day and enjoy an easier, faster recovery.

It’s all part of our commitment to bring leading surgical care right to the central and western Maine surrounding communities we serve. So you can focus less on traveling, and more on healing.

Full Range of Surgical Services

Just some of our specialties include:

General surgery

Our surgeons treat all types of health problems affecting the esophagus, stomach, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts. We take a minimally invasive approach whenever possible, including appendectomies and gallbladder removal, as well as complex hernia repair. These laparoscopic procedures require just a few small incisions, which often means significantly less pain and quicker return to your life.

Cancer surgery

For many types of cancer, surgery is often the best first treatment, especially for early stage cancers or those that are contained to one area. Our board-certified surgeons are skilled in removing even the most complex tumors, while helping minimize damage to surrounding healthy tissue. We also work closely with specialists in radiation and medical oncology to ensure the best possible care.

Gynecologic surgery

Our women’s health experts perform a wide range of gynecologic procedures to address concerns at any age and stage of life. That includes treatment for endometriosis, removing fibroids and ovarian cysts, and minimally invasive techniques for incontinence and hysterectomy. Many of these procedures can be done on an outpatient basis, allowing you to leave the hospital the same day and recover comfortably at home.

Heart and vascular surgery

At the nationally recognized Central Maine Heart and Vascular Institute (CMHVI), our cardiovascular surgeons perform both traditional open heart surgery as well as some of the most advanced, minimally invasive options available. Specialties include implantable devices and ablation to help restore irregular heart rhythms; angioplasty and other interventional procedures in our state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization lab; heart valve repair and replacement, including the revolutionary TAVR procedure for severe aortic stenosis; and pediatric procedures to address congenital heart concerns and other conditions affecting young hearts.

Orthopedic surgery

The board-certified surgeons at Orthopedic Institute of Central Maine (OICM) and Central Maine Healthcare Orthopedics (CMHO) are here to help get your body, and life, back in motion. We’ve earned the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for providing the highest standards of care in hip, knee and shoulder replacement, as well as hip fracture care. We also specialize in minimally invasive spine surgery and the latest arthroscopic techniques to help you return faster to what you love.

Plastic and reconstructive surgery

Central Maine Healthcare offers a wide range of cosmetic and reconstructive procedures to help you look and feel your best. Elective cosmetic options include face lifts, breast augmentation, tummy tucks, liposuction and more from our board-certified plastic surgeons. Our reconstructive procedures can help restore appearance and self-confidence after an injury or illness, including breast reconstruction following mastectomy.

Trauma surgery

As a Level III Trauma Center, we provide 24-hour surgical coverage for all types of serious and life-threatening injuries. We also orthopedic surgeons and other critical care specialists always on-call.

Weight loss (bariatric) surgery

Transform your health and life with help from our board-certified bariatric surgeons. We perform a variety of safe and proven weight loss procedures, including gastric bypass, gastric sleeve and adjustable gastric banding (LAP-BAND). Using the latest laparoscopic options, we’ll help give you the best possible start on your journey, and provide the ongoing education and support you need to achieve your goals.

Other common surgeries we offer include:

  • Breast surgery
  • Colon surgery
  • Ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgery
  • Esophageal surgery
  • Gastrointestinal surgery
  • Liver and biliary tract surgery
  • Lung surgery
  • Pediatric surgery
  • Podiatry procedures
  • Urologic surgery

da Vinci Robotic Surgery

Central Maine Healthcare is dedicated to providing advanced treatments locally. Our robotic-assisted surgical procedures — performed with the da Vinci Surgical System — allow patients to access leading-edge technology that not only minimizes the risk of post-surgical complications but also allows for faster recovery.

Why Do You Need da Vinci Robotic Surgery?

CMH surgeons use da Vinci to perform general and bariatric (weight loss) surgeries and treat a range of complex gastrointestinal conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer.

Contrary to its name, da Vinci robotic surgery is not performed by a robot. Instead, this complex surgical system allows your surgeon to use specialized, tiny instruments and a 3D view of the surgical area to perform a minimally invasive surgery through a smaller incision than would be required with traditional open surgery.

da Vinci robotic surgery benefits patients in a variety of ways. Many patients experience reduced pain, less blood loss, a shorter hospital stay and a faster overall recovery when they have procedures with da Vinci compared with traditional open surgery.

But only you and your provider can determine whether this type of procedure is right for you based on your individual medical history and the procedure that’s required.

Getting Ready for da Vinci Robotic Surgery

You prepare for da Vinci robotic surgery the same way you prepare for any standard surgical procedure. Your surgeon will provide you with in-depth pre-surgical instructions to help guide your care before your procedure.

These instructions will provide specifics about any required pre-surgical testing, guidance about eating and drinking prior to the procedure, and information about any medications you need to use or discontinue before surgery. It’s important to carefully follow these instructions to ensure your safety and well-being and to promote positive surgical outcomes.

What to Expect During da Vinci Robotic Surgery

While your experience will vary somewhat depending on the exact procedure you’re undergoing, every da Vinci robotic surgery includes some of the same basics.

During the surgical procedure, your surgeon will sit at a special console. From there, they are able to use a monitor to examine the 360-degree view of the surgical area and manipulate the controls required to perform the surgery.

When the procedure begins, your surgeon will make tiny incisions. A miniature 3D camera and similarly tiny surgical instruments are then placed in the body through those incisions.

Once this is done, your surgeon has complete control from the console. Using hand and foot controls, they move the surgical instruments. They move in real-time with your provider’s motions, which are guided by the high-definition view of the surgical area. This is of great benefit to patients, since the real-time motion of your surgeon’s hands give the surgeon even more dexterity and control over the procedure than they would have in a standard surgery.

Recovering From da Vinci Robotic Surgery

The length and intensity of your recovery after surgery will depend on the type of procedure that was performed. Patients undergoing da Vinci robotic surgery often require shorter hospital stays and can return to normal activities more quickly, but your individual circumstance may vary.