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Insurance:

We accept most Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance plans.

Once your procedure has been scheduled, it is important to notify your insurance company of the date of your admission for the procedure and what type of procedure you are having. Some policies require this of its members.

Our office can provide estimates of the surgery cost.  If a patient knows his or her out of pocket maximum for the insurance calendar year, that will help determine the patient’s responsibility. This is the amount the patient will be responsible for every calendar year before coverage will be at 100%.

We understand the trust you have with your family physician – and they trust us to take the best care of you. That being said, it is important that we meet with you prior to scheduling surgery to fully evaluate your condition, discuss the surgery with you, and give you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have.

Preparing for Surgery:

If you smoke, we strongly encourage you to stop smoking.  Smoking inhibits healing after surgery. Take the first step and call 1800-QUIT.NOW for free support. Call your primary care doctor if you need assistance with medications to quit smoking.

Do not shave your operative site for a minimum of 2 days prior to surgery, or longer based on your surgeon’s instructions.

Bathe or shower the night before and the morning of surgery day. Your doctor will give you further instructions about the type of soap to use.

Follow these instructions for after you bathe or shower:

  • Use a freshly laundered towel.
  • Put on freshly laundered clothes.
  • Sleep on freshly laundered linens.
  • Do NOT apply any powders, deodorants or lotions.

We recommend eating healthy meals the week before your surgery. We also recommend you prepare for post-surgery by purchasing easy to digest and prepare foods, and plenty of liquids.

  • It is important to get enough protein and calories to help your body heal, so be sure to include good sources of protein like dairy products, meat, fish and poultry.
  • Follow dietary instructions that you are given after surgery.
  • If you are finding it difficult to eat enough after surgery, try taking liquid nutritional supplements such as Ensure or Boost.

Post Surgery:

  • Keep bandages clean and dry.
  • Wash your hands frequently throughout the day with soap and water.
  • Wash your hands prior to caring for your wound.
  • Ask visitors to wash their hands before and after visiting.
  • Until your wound heals, be sure to use freshly laundered towels, clothing and linens.
  • DO NOT irritate your surgical wound by picking, squeezing, itching, or rubbing.
  • It is VERY important to finish all antibiotics prescribed to you for post-surgery use.
  • Keep pets away from your wound.
  • Follow all specific care instructions given to you by your surgeon.

Call your doctor IMMEDIATELY if you have any common signs of infection, such as: increased redness, pain, drainage, or fever.

Once you feel ready, you may do short periods of light physical activity with rest periods, such as walking.

  • Walking is an excellent way to increase strength, endurance and decrease risk of other complications after surgery.

Ask friends and family to help you with:

  • Getting meals ready
  • Grocery shopping
  • House cleaning
  • Laundry

When in doubt, use pain level as your guide.

  • No lifting, pushing or pulling over 10 lbs (about a gallon of milk).
  • No strenuous activities (yard work, shoveling, sports, vacuuming, etc.).
  • No sexual activity until comfortable.
  • No abdominal exercises or heavy lifting until cleared by your surgeon,
  • No driving until cleared by your surgeon (ask about this at your office visit after surgery).
  • No driving within 6 hours of taking narcotic pain medication.
  • Change the outer dressing if it becomes wet or saturated.
  • Typically outer dressings can be removed after 48 hours, unless otherwise directed by your surgeon.
  • After outer dressings have been removed, begin showering daily to gently wash incisions and pat dry.
    • If you have a drain, do not shower until your surgeon gives permission.
  • If you have staples, they will be removed at your office visit. If you have steri strips, they will fall off with time.
  • Do not soak incisions (no pool, hot tub, or baths for 2-3 weeks after surgery).
  • Do not pull at staples, sutures or steri strips.
  • Do not place any antibiotic ointment, antiseptics or powder on incisions, unless directed by your physician.
  • If you are prescribed pain medications, take them as needed.
  • You may take plain acetaminophen (Tylenol) for discomfort as directed on the bottle, (do not take over 3,000mg in 1 day as this can be harmful to your liver).
    • Be aware that your prescribed pain medication may contain Tylenol.
  • Apply an ice pack (20 minutes on and 20 minutes off) as needed for pain and to control swelling.
  • You can start to use warm compresses after 48 hours – be careful of the temperature to avoid burns.
  • If your pain is unmanageable, contact your surgeon’s office.
  • Surgery and some pain medications can cause constipation. If this becomes a problem, increase the amount of fluids you drink, add more whole grains, and fruits/ vegetables to your diet.
  • Walking helps promote bowel activity.
  • Over the counter medications can help relieve constipation. Take as directed by your surgeon.

Surgery & Employment:

  • Contact your employer’s human resource department to get FMLA paperwork.
  • Complete the employee section of the form and sign any release of information sections.
  • Drop the forms off with the receptionist at our office, or you the fax forms to 920-729-2378.
  • Surgical Associates of Neenah must have a release of information form filled out before we are able to release any FMLA/short term disability paperwork to your employer. Please request this form from the receptionist. The release of information form is also available on our website here.
  • Family members that need FMLA paperwork filled out also need to fill out a release of information form.
  • A return to work or school letter can be requested.
  • Please call our office (920)725-4527 and speak to our receptionist if you have additional questions about return to work forms.

Billing Information for Colonoscopies:

Thank you for choosing Surgical Associates of Neenah, SC for your healthcare needs.  Here are some helpful things to remember:

    1. There are some circumstances that may change the type of colonoscopy that is billed to your insurance company. If a biopsy is done or a polyp removed, this may change a screening colonoscopy to a diagnostic colonoscopy. This could result in higher out-of-pocket expenses. Please contact your insurance company for additional information about your individual policy and how they will process each type of colonoscopy.

 

    1. Surgical Associates of Neenah, SC does not contact your insurance company prior to your procedure. We ask each patient to be responsible for knowing his/her insurance company’s guidelines and following through with any precertification requirements.

 

    1. You will receive separate bills from our office and the facility where you had your procedure done. You may also receive a bill from the laboratory, pathology and/or anesthesiology offices. Surgical Associates of Neenah, can only provide you with information associated with our fees.

 

    1. Your doctor cannot add, delete or change a diagnosis (billing code) to facilitate better insurance coverage.

 

    1. We are contractually and legally required to report any and all of our findings.

 

    1. When your doctor dictates his/her operative note, it is a binding, legal document that cannot be altered for the sole purpose of coverage determination. We ask each patient to understand and respect our responsibility to report the procedure completely and honestly to his/her insurance company.

If you do not have insurance coverage for your procedure, please call our office at 920-725-4527 and press option 3 to discuss our fees and payment arrangements. It is important to do this prior to your procedure to avoid any unexpected financial issues. If you have any additional questions regarding this information, please contact our billing team at: 920-725-4527 and, when prompted, press option 3.