Re: Is surgery postponed in snow?

drizzellla · ‎03-14-2010

BirkiLady stated so well.

I can not see any operation being cancelled for inches of snow. Three friends are operating room nurses. And they all have 4 wheel drive vehicles. They are expected to be there when they are scheduled. My son works in a pharmacy for nursing homes, etc and he is expected to be at work - no matter how much snow is on the ground. He has had to stay in a hotel so he could be at work the next day.

I think you have time to work out a Plan B.

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

@RetRNwrote:
@chrystaltreewrote:
Yes, elective surgeries are canceled due to storms, hurricanes, blizzards etc etc. It depends on the situation. It driving conditions are extremely hazardous, most patients reschedule their surgeries themselves. No one is going to drive through raging blizzard and 2 feet of snow for something that can be done another....safer....time. You didn't say what type of corneal surgery but I do think that you need to call the surgicenter and have this conversation with them. Perhaps, due to the weather, they can push the surgery back a day or two.
It would have to be some mighty bad weather for a facility to cancel surgeries. I never saw it happen and I live in a northern state with lots of bad winter weather. I worked in hospitals for 40 years and was expected to be there no matter what the weather.

There's surgery and there's SURGERY and you know that. I didn't say that the hospitals cancelled surgery, they never do because they never close. But patients do postppone elective outpatient procedures and not just because of weather. Life happens even when you scheduled your bunionectomy. OP has some very real and genuine concerns so it's best that she speak with her surgeon's office about it. It's not a big deal.

Mj12 · ‎03-09-2010

@Shorty2Uwrote:
Thank you, they will call here Mon or Tues for "exact" set surgery time. (which is usually at dawn from our experience and then we go and wait and wait).

PS Why I dont think theyd postpone is, he first (a week ago) had holes lasered in his eye FOR the surgery. This had to be done ahead of time so I dont know if theyd postpone due to that?

So I guess will ask then when they call with the time. I just thought people might know what they do but I guess each place is different too.

(No wont take a cab we live an hour away it would cost a fortune, I dont even think they come here unless the price is right we could beg? We live in the country) No buses hear and I never saw a cab here in 11 years. .Never used uber (would they drive in snow?).

I will see what they say when they call. (I really need to calm down my nerves are getting on my nerves lol. Im more worried than my husband and hes getting the surrgey!)

@Shorty2U of COURSE Uber drives in snow, as does Lyft and other car services. If a cab is your only option - take the cab. Can't believe this is even a question.

hckynut · ‎03-10-2010

@Shorty2U

Like most businesses, My guess would be, they vary! What is a "winter storm" to some is nothing more than "a little snow falling".

Do your meds say to not drive while taking them? If so, my suggestion would be, don't! Snow or no snow. If your meds say not to drive, why doesn't your husband drive? I had Outpatient surgery where General Anesthesia was used, and yes, I could have driven home. What's the difference if he isn't supposed to drive, and you, if your meds say "don't drive". That is IF your meds say that.

With the posts I have read regarding your pain issues, it would surprise me if your prescribed meds did not say not to drive. Any pain killer stronger than an NSAID?

Why not a "rescue", snow or no snow by your daughter?

hckynut(john)

Annabellethecat66 · ‎03-12-2010

I guess it depends on where you are. My daughter just broke her knee skiing in Vale Colorado Saturday. They carried her off of the mountain to their hospital and operated early the next day. The surgeon was the same Dr that takes care of the Olympic ski team...so that was lucky.

I guess in places like that snow doesn't make a difference. We did face time several times with her there. Even lying in bed (and in pain) she said, "Mom! I'm still happy being here, watching the snow fall than I would be back in Va.

So there you go, I guess. Here in Va/DC/Md the government got the entire day off Friday because of the WIND!

Interesting, because when I went out to lunch there so so many people driving on the roads you'd have thought they were Christmas shopping....go figure! Your money pays for that. I used to work for the government as did all of my friends. We almost NEVER even got snow days off.

When the government closes around here (which is often) everything closes down (except stores).

viva923 · ‎03-12-2010

don’t be surprised if the surg is cancelled.

They may wait till tomorrow to cancel to see the exact forecast the day of snow storm.

NYC Susan · ‎03-13-2010

@deepwaterdotterwrote:
My husband's hernia surgery was scheduled for a morning that resulted in 6-8 inches of snow. When I called to confirm that no surgeries had been cancelled due to weather conditions, I was told that the surgeon had stayed overnight at the hospital. The surgery was successfully performed as scheduled.

That's pretty typical. Medical personnel are used to being at work and doing their jobs no matter what else is going on. When I worked in the medical field, I had to be there even if the governor had declared a state of emergency and even if the police were blocking off roads and telling drivers to turn back. (I was always allowed thru when I explained about my job.)

My son was in the hospital recuperating from surgery when he was a teenager, and there was a huge blizzard. Some nurses couldn't get to the hospital, so the ones who were already there simply stayed. But most got there. You never would have known how awful the weather was because everything went on pretty much as usual.

NYC Susan · ‎03-13-2010

@RetRNwrote:
@chrystaltreewrote:
Yes, elective surgeries are canceled due to storms, hurricanes, blizzards etc etc. It depends on the situation. It driving conditions are extremely hazardous, most patients reschedule their surgeries themselves. No one is going to drive through raging blizzard and 2 feet of snow for something that can be done another....safer....time. You didn't say what type of corneal surgery but I do think that you need to call the surgicenter and have this conversation with them. Perhaps, due to the weather, they can push the surgery back a day or two.
It would have to be some mighty bad weather for a facility to cancel surgeries. I never saw it happen and I live in a northern state with lots of bad winter weather. I worked in hospitals for 40 years and was expected to be there no matter what the weather.

Yes. It would really have to be something major, and even then - since most likely it would have been predicted - doctors, etc. would have stayed over at the hospital or very near by.

I would always assume that - from the surgeon's point of view - the surgery will take place as planned. If that's potentially a problem for the OP, then she needs to have a conversation with the doctor's office.

Shorty2U · ‎03-09-2010

Thank you again for the replies. I was just asking but yes we taked to the surgery center today now of course.

Well they don't postpone and DH asked about if he could postpone and they said we would be charged.

So he said call the Hampton Inn and book a room for 2 nights. So thats what we did.

Now here's the thing, they're calling for 8 to 16 inches of snow (or more) now and they have a shuttle at the hotel but NOT to the Dr (which only is a mile away).

SO being my daughter and her family live a few miles away from all this my son in law is going to pick us up at the hotel and take us to surgery and then come back for us and take us back to the hotel.

**We'd have stayed with my daughters family but DH thought of it today we cant because hes deathly allergic to dogs (they have 2) and wont be able to breathe if we would sleep there for 2 days and will have asthma attacks (and allergy shots work on our cats but not dogs)**

So that's the scoop. We will be in a hotel for 2 days and thank God for my son in law! (I had tears when he said he would shuttle us IE he has to leave work to do so and go back in bad weather)

Thursday then I have to take DH back to the surgery place to be rechecked (from the hotel when we check out) and I pray roads are clear by then so we can get home!

I'm trying to look at the bright side, the hotel has a heated pool, a hot tub and free breakfast lol. DH can go in the water the night before surgery but once he has surgery he will be laying flat on his back for 2 days only getting up to eat, go to the bathroom and back for his recheck and home to lay flat again! But he said I should go ahead and get in the heated pool which may be good for my back.

So I am praying it all goes well. That's all i can do. And I hope now that we have the hotel they don't cancel surgery at the last minute or we will be stuck in a motel for 2 nights.lol.

Also a bit concerned about our cats who tend to fight at times and the little one goes after wires so we are going to unplug things and let plenty of dry food and water down for them!

Oh PS we got snacks, sandwich items, and microwave soups, and drinks to take to the hotel because they have fridges and microwaves in the rooms and also we cant go out to eat w the bad weather and him having to lay flat. Got some that are perishable in case of power outage at motel.(although they should have a generator) and of course the hotel has WIFI.

PSS) Someone said cabs there are no cabs here where we live. If Id call the nearest town (40 minutes away) they might have come for 100 bucks! But not in bad snow. Because there are cabs in area of surgery (Far from here) but cabs don't run with bad snow. If its light snow they take hours to come. I know because DD used to call a cab when her car was being worked on in that same area.

Well anyway we got the hotel now so thats that. Cant wait till this is over with. Very worried about my husband.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make~ The Beatles