Having surgery with us? Everything you need is here.

Where you'll go, and when

• Surgery takes place at Cape Cod Hospital — the O'Keefe Surgical Pavilion, located to the right of the main entrance.
• A pre-operative nurse from the hospital calls you the day before surgery, between 1:00 and 5:00 pm, with your arrival time.
• Nothing to eat or drink after midnight the evening before your procedure.

Your medications before surgery

Some medications increase bleeding or anesthesia risk and must be paused — always with your prescribing physician's approval. Your printed sheet may note that your specific procedure doesn't require holding blood thinners.

Blood thinners & anti-inflammatories

Weight-loss & diabetes injections (GLP-1s)

Medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Trulicity slow stomach emptying, which matters under anesthesia. The rule of thumb: weekly injections stop 7 days before; daily doses stop the day of surgery.

If you take a GLP-1 for diabetes and it will be held longer than your dosing schedule, ask your prescriber whether to bridge your diabetes therapy in the meantime.

Other common medications

• SGLT2 inhibitors — Jardiance, Farxiga, Steglatro, Invokana: Hold 3 days before surgery
• Metformin and other oral diabetes medications: Hold the day of surgery
• Rapid- and short-acting insulin (aspart, lispro, regular): Hold the day of surgery
• Basal, intermediate & mixed insulin; insulin pumps: Follow your prescriber's instructions
• Thyroid medications (levothyroxine and others): Take the day of surgery
• Inhalers and asthma/COPD medications (albuterol and others): Use the day of surgery
• Theophylline: Typically held the day before and the day of surgery

Pre-op testing & your results

• If testing is needed, it can be done at any Quest or Cape Cod Healthcare laboratory, 7–10 days before surgery — no fasting required.
• Your results and messages from our team come through the Healow patient portal — not the hospital's MyChart. If you're looking for a result and don't see it, check that you're in the Healow portal rather than MyChart.

Getting there — and home

• You must arrange a driver to and from the hospital — without one, surgery is rescheduled.
• If you go home the same day, someone must stay with you that night as a safety precaution.

Insurance & costs

If you have private commercial insurance, contact them about your upcoming procedure to understand your deductible and co-pays. We submit prior authorization when your plan requires it. And if your insurance has changed, tell us before surgery — the fastest way is to upload your new card online.