What is the hospital admission procedure for a spine endoscopy procedure?
It is the same for all full-endoscopic procedures, whether disk herniation treatment or stenosis decompression.
similar for lumbar and cervical surgeries.
Hospital admission to hospital is from 6:45 a.m.
You need to come in sober: this means no more eating or drinking from 12:00 midnight on the day. Also do not drink water or coffee, do not smoke. Strictly necessary medication may still be taken with a little water.
Please sign up for service registrations from where they will escort you to your room. At the registrations
An intake interview is held in the room by a nurse. Hand over your medication list and (hand signed) pre-perative booklet. It is best to bring some reading material with you in order to be able to bridge any waiting time until the operation.
Before the operation you will be taken to the pre-anaesthesia room where an infusion will be placed. From there you will be taken to surgery room 1.
The duration of the operation depends on the type and extent of the endoscopic procedure. Surgery time can vary from 20 minutes to 2 hours.
After the operation you will go to the recovery room. Dr. Van Daele will visit you there to give an initial explanation about the course of the endoscopy.
Immediately after the procedure you may move or sit up straight. As soon as you are sufficiently awake it is possible to get out of bed for toilet visits. The first time this is done under the supervision of a nurse as there may still be dizziness from the anaesthetic.
The next meal (more than four hours after the operation) may be taken while sitting at the table. In the late afternoon or early evening Dr. Van Daele will come back to your room.
Overnight stay in the hospital.
The next morning, around 8 o'clock, Dr. Van Daele comes back to his room for the last time.
All movements are permitted. Sitting and certainly sitting for a long time is not recommended for the first six weeks.
In case of hernia surgery, turning your back and bent lifting are forbidden. Taking stairs is allowed, hospital bed is certainly not necessary.
The 8 mm wound is closed with a Steristrip or stitched with a digestible thread that will fall out after ten days. No stitches need to be removed. Just before the hospital discharge, a waterproof bandage can be stuck on top if desired. This allows you to shower.
A soft dorsal support bandage are provided, this should be worn during the day for the first five weeks. You may sleep on it. In endoscopy this helps to remind people of the fact that they have had surgery. Some people suffer so little from the endoscopy and are so severely affected by their leg complaints that they forget that they must not twist and bend with their backs....
You can leave the hospital at 11:00 in the morning. This transfer home is done under the supervision of the family or friend.
If you come from far away , it is best to wear the anti-flebitis (T E D) stockings for the journey back home.
When you are discharged, you will be given a number of documents
a letter for the family doctor (who will visit you four days later: examination of the wound)
a prescription for pain medication (if necessary)
an appointment card for follow-up consultation four weeks later with Dr. Van Daele
If you come from further away, it is best to wear the anti-flebitis (T E D) stockings for the journey home