Patient Information

1. Remember to bring insurance cards, a form of ID, and any other important documents, such as power of attorney or adoption paperwork, that you may need or were asked to bring. If any paperwork was given to you to complete prior to your arrival, please have it filled out and bring it with you.
2. Please dress in loose, easily-removable, comfortable clothing as you will be changing into a hospital gown in the pre-operative area.
3. Do not bring valuables, and please remove all jewelry prior to arrival. We do not have any way of securing personal valuables while you are in surgery.
4. Please do not wear make-up, perfume, hairspray, body lotion or powders, aftershave, or colognes. The use of anti-perspirant or deodorant is acceptable.
5. If you wear eye glasses, contact lenses, hearing aids or dentures, please bring a personal carrying case to hold these item(s) during surgery. Wills Eye Hospital cannot be held responsible for damaged goods not stored properly in a case.
6. If you were previously contacted about a co-pay due for services, please be prepared to pay that amount upon arrival at the time of registration. (We accept cash, personal checks, debit cards and all major credit cards.)

Pre-Operative Instructions

Please be advised: You will receive a call from one of our nurses or a text from the facility the day before your surgery (Friday if you are a Monday case) between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. You may also receive additional texts in the days leading up to your surgery.

Please note that your arrival time may be left on your home answering machine or cell phone voice mail. **Your arrival time and surgical time is an estimate and clinical time frames may vary. For this reason it is important that you plan the entire day for your procedure and recovery.**

If you have any further questions or need clarification of which medications to take or if you do not receive a phone call with your preoperative arrival time, please call 215-928-3100.

What You Need To Know About Your Medications

1. Morning blood pressure and heart medications should be taken with a small sip of water if these medications are usually taken in the morning.
2. DO NOT take any medication that is a diuretic or “water pill” such as hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) or lasix (Furosemide) or any medication that may be combined with these medications.
3. If you are a diabetic and take oral medications or use insulin please do not take or use these medications the morning of your procedure. If you use insulin the evening before the procedure, please contact your primary medical doctor to determine if you should reduce the amount of insulin you use. Not eating in the morning and taking the regular dosage of insulin the night before surgery may allow the blood sugar to decrease to low levels.
4. If you currently take aspirin, coumadin, ibuprofen or any other nonsteroidal anti inflammatory (NSAID) medication or blood thinners, please contact your primary medical doctor and your surgical team to determine if you should continue taking these medications. These medications decrease the clotting ability of the blood and therefore must be stopped prior to some surgical procedures. It is important that your care team and physician are aware of this important information and can advise.
5. On the day of your surgery, please bring a list of all medications that you are currently taking. Your Anesthesia Physicians will need to review these medications. This includes any eye drops currently used.

 

Eating and/or Drinking Before Surgery

Do not eat or drink anything after midnight of the night before your procedure. This includes no gum, candy or mints.

No liquids after midnight but clear liquids, such as water or apple juice, are allowed up to 2 hours before arrival time. (NO ORANGE JUICE)

Black coffee or clear tea is acceptable up to 2 hours prior to arrival time. (PLEASE NOTE: TEA OR COFFEE CANNOT CONTAIN SUGAR OR CREAMER/MILK)

A small sip of water is allowed only for those patients taking morning medications.

*Brushing your teeth is permitted.*

CHILDREN are exceptions to this rule. Please use the following guidelines:

​Infants 6 months to 2 years old. These children may have:

• Milk or formula up to 8 hours before their scheduled arrival time
• Breast milk up to 3 hours before their arrival time
• Clear liquids, such as water, apple juice, or pedialyte up to 2 hours before their arrival time. (NO ORANGE JUICE)

 

Children 2 years to 18 years old. Clear liquids, such as apple juice or pedialyte is encouraged up to 2 hours before their arrival time.
(NO ORANGE JUICE)

If within 2 hours of arrival time, then cease the consumption of any liquids.

You are required to have an adult (someone over 18 years old) to arrive with you, stay during your procedure and then take you home after your procedure.

Please limit family members/caregivers to two people on the day of surgery. When at all possible, please refrain from bringing young siblings and children under the age of 16 into the facility as guests of surgical patients.

Please come to the center with the name and telephone number(s) of the individual who will escort you home. This person will be verified prior to your surgical procedure to ensure that they will be taking you home from the center. Your procedure will be cancelled if your ride cannot be verified. Your escort must have their phone on and be available at all times during your time at Wills Eye.

If arriving by car please try to park on the 7th floor (roof top) of the Walnut Towers parking garage located adjacent to the Wills Eye Hospital building. The Surgical department is on the 7^th floor and there are doors from the garage that lead directly into the surgical registration area. Parking on the 7^th floor will make it easier for discharge after surgery.  Entrances to this garage are accessible on both 8^th and 9^th Streets between Walnut and Locust Streets or from Walnut Street on the left just before the traffic light at 9th Street.