Surgical Services
When you need surgery, turn to the experienced surgeons at Forrest Health for minor or complex surgeries. You'll receive comprehensive care close to home in south Mississippi.
Types of Surgery
Look to Forrest Health for a complete range of surgical services, including:
- Cancer surgery
- Colorectal surgery
- Dental surgery
- Teeth extractions
- Teeth restorations
- Ear, nose, and throat surgery (ENT)
- Tonsil and adenoid surgery
- Thyroid surgery
- General surgery
- AV fistula creation
- Bariatric surgery
- Colorectal surgery
- Gallbladder removal
- Hernia surgery
- Gynecological surgery
- Heart and vascular surgery
- Neurosurgery
- Oral and maxillofacial surgery
- Facial fracture repair
- Corrective jaw surgery
- Orthopedic surgery
- Plastic surgery
- Breast reconstruction
- Breast reduction
- Facial fracture repair
- Trauma surgery
- Urologic surgery
- Prostatectomy (prostate removal)
- Nephrectomy (kidney removal)
- Bladder surgery
- Vascular surgery
- Carotid arty surgery
- Endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm
- Amputations
Inpatient vs. Outpatient Surgery
Depending on your health and procedure, your surgery may be:
- Outpatient - You go home the same day as treatment.
- Inpatient - You stay overnight in the hospital for observation and care.
Your Surgical Team
In addition to your surgeon, you'll receive care from;
- Anesthesiologist (doctor) or nurse anesthetist who provides medicine to relax you and prevent surgical pain
- Nurses who specialize in caring for people before, during, and after surgery
Preparing for Surgery
When you have surgery at Forrest Health, your comfort and care are our highest priority. To make things go as smoothly as possible, here are a few things you should know before you arrive.
Pre-Operative Appointment
Before surgery, you'll meet with your surgeon and surgical team to:
- Review the procedure in detail and answer any questions you may have
- Sign an informed consent that gives your surgeon permission to perform your surgery
- Schedule any pre-op labs, tests, or additional appointments you may need before surgery
- Discuss what to do before surgery such as not eating or drinking anything after midnight the day before your surgery
- Make plans if you need to stop certain medications several days before your procedure to lower the risk of surgical bleeding
- Receive support to help you to stop smoking prior to your surgery
Day of Surgery
In addition to the specific instructions your surgeon gives you, plan to:
- Have someone who can provide you with transportation and stay with you throughout your surgery
- Meet the helpful surgical team who will be with you before, during, and after surgery
- Answer and ask questions to help prepare for the safest surgery possible
After Surgery
After your procedure, you'll wake up and go to the recovery room. If you're staying in the hospital overnight, your family will meet you in your room, if you're going home the same day, your family can wait in the surgery waiting room.
Your diet will slowly progress from liquids back to your normal diet as your doctor recommends. Before you can go home, your doctor will give you instructions about:
- Your diet at home
- How to care for your incisions
- What symptoms to report
- When to attend your follow-up appointment with your surgeon
Preventing Infection
You can help prevent infection when you:
- Use anti-bacterial soap before and after surgery
- Avoid body washes
- Do not shave near the surgery site before your surgery
- Avoid lotion, powders, hair spray, deodorant, and make-up the day of surgery
- Follow the directions given by your surgical team about wound care and bathing after surgery
- Make sure you and your caregivers are washing your hands frequently
- Use clean clothing, linens, towels, and washcloths
- Take any medications and antibiotics provided by your doctor
Signs and Symptoms to Report
Call your doctor immediately if you experience:
- Fever over 101
- Bleeding
- Pain not relieved by your pain medicine
- Severe nausea and vomiting
- Drainage or redness around your incisions
- Swollen or rigid abdomen
- Inability to keep liquids down
Surgical Site Infections
Whenever possible, our surgeons use minimally invasive techniques to reduce pain, scarring, and recovery time. Our surgeons have access to advanced robotic-assisted technology: the da Vinci Xi Surgical System.
The da Vinic Xi Surgical System gives the surgeon an extra level of precision and additional range of motion. It translates the surgeon’s movements into smaller, more precise movements by tiny surgical equipment, leaving the surgeon in complete control. The da Vinci system’s immersive 3D-HD vision system provides surgeons a highly magnified view, virtually extending their eyes and hands further than what is possible with traditional surgical equipment.
Patients who have minimally invasive surgery benefit from quicker recovery times, and typically experience significantly less pain and blood loss than in conventional “open incision” procedures. Patients also tend to have a much shorter stay in the hospital, allowing them to recover comfortably at home. While every case is unique, with robotic-assisted surgery, patients can return to routine, everyday activities in as little as two to three weeks.
Currently, Forrest General uses the da Vinci system for select urological surgeries and will be adding more general surgery and gynecological surgical procedures in near future.
