The Surgery Center of Chevy Chase

I have been to a few surgery centers and this one was ok. I was scheduled to be there at 6:30 am and was told over the phone if they were not there just to wait. So when I arrived there were other people too just sitting there waiting. When the front desk lady came she was not very friendly.
When she was done with my paperwork she told me wait 15 minutes then go to pre op. When I went to pre op the staff was much better, very friendly and funny. They gave good instructions and off to surgery I went. I did not have a bed but a chair and a little space (they seemed overbooked or something). My take home directions were crappy and had to call my doctor for direction (not sure if that was the center or my Dr’s fault).
I wouldn’t be mad if I had to have another surgery here but would much rather Rockville surgery center.

I am scheduled to have surgery there in a few days. I have called them for almost three weeks to ask a question about the surgery and how to prepare for it. I have left voice mails, had other staff members leave messages for the Admin Mgr and there has never been a response.
I did speak to one of the nurses who kept saying that they have procedures they follow and there are no exceptions EVER so questions about them aren’t a good use of her time. Really? Isn’t every patient an individual with specific needs based on their health and reason for surgery? Nope — not according to her.
I like the doctor who is supposed to perform the surgery but I was hoping for a more professional atmosphere.

I’ve been here to get steroid injections in my lower back so I can’t really speak to the surgery aspect. Checking in is always a toss up. The staff seems very disorganized and overworked. They call you back to go over your information then just say you can go back to preop. No info on if your guest comes with or not. Once you’re in the preop area there’s a single row of chairs for people to wait in and for my previous two visits they’ve been full so I stood while waiting for my nurse. I’ve had stellar experiences with the nursing staff. They’re very personable and willing to answer whatever questions they can.

So Disclaimer: I received medically necessary medications which may have altered my perception or memory. This may not be the most accurate reporting.
I liked this place as much as I can like any place where their job is to cut you open.
They gave me a lot of instructions beforehand and some of it was obvious, but they have to tell everyone so the morons hear it too. I would have appreciated getting the instructions for my partial (right knee and surrounding area) silkwood shower earlier, since I had to run out and get antibacterial body wash. No one wants to run errands the night before surgery. I tend to not use antibacterial products normally.
Check in was pretty smooth and as expected. I believe there was some mention of it being a teaching place so I either signed a release or confirmed that I knew they might show pictures of my bones, tendons, etc. to someone. I’m sure they’re very tasteful and educational. Pre-​op prep was a little scattered — I think they were running behind because of a patient’s lateness. I really needed to go to the bathroom but I was kind of connected to the bed. It took a while to flag someone down, but I wanted to pee before I lost the use of my right leg for 48 hours.
My surgeon was Dr. Omohundro from MOST in Silver Spring. I can’t remember the anesthesiologist’s name (started with a P, but remember that’s the guy with the night-​night drugs). He was very nice. I received local and general anesthesia. He called later to check about the local. They gave me something to relax before either one of those things, so at the time I didn’t much care what they did.
Operating room was cold but it’s supposed to be, and I only remember about 120 seconds of it. I woke up as they were getting ready to take me out of the OR. The lady (I think? I was drowsy and there was a mask) said nice things to me. Post-​op was very nice. It was strange to not feel my leg and it was wrapped from toe to mid-​thigh in ace bandages. So I got a little worried it wasn’t there or I was now a mummy. So I was assured that’s just what my doctor liked to do, given juice, told to rest, and generally got very attentive care.
One small thing: I forget things that happen before I got knocked out, but I remember after. One of the nurses was talking a lot about some personal things. Maybe she thought I was sleeping or wouldn’t remember, but it was a little awkward. And I didn’t want to interrupt to ask for some water.
They checked many times about my allergies, surgery and if I had followed their instructions. Everyone I interacted with was very professional and skilled.
Someone, i’m not sure of his title, was very helpful in getting me into the car. Not sure we would have managed well at all on our own.