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WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Dr. Eccles’ team will notify Debbie, your Surgery Scheduler. She will call you within 1- 3 business days and help you
select an available surgical date. You will also be scheduled for a preoperative visit a week or so before surgery. Debbie
is a great resource for any questions you may have before surgery that these instructions do not answer. Her number is
(480) 964-2908 extension 4141.

PREOPERATIVE TESTING AND CLEARANCE
Prior to surgery, Dr. Eccles will need you to obtain medical clearance from your Primary Care Physician (PCP). You will
need to obtain (non-fasting) blood work, an EKG and potentially other tests to make sure you are safe to proceed with
elective surgery. For example, if you have diabetes, your hemoglobin A1c needs to be below 7.5% to limit infection risk.
These tests will be ordered by your PCP who should review them with you and send the results to us. They need to be
done within 30 days of surgery to be valid. Due to ongoing changes with medical insurance, certain laboratory tests
may not be covered by your insurance company and may be your financial responsibility.

Have your PCP review all of your medications! This includes a complete
list of all prescriptions, over-the-counter, herbal supplements, and
vitamins you take. Please bring the medicines in their original bottles to
your appointment so a complete list can be recorded. We oversee your
joint replacement and do not manage your home medications. Your PCP
should instruct you if you need to stop certain medications before
surgery.

For example:
• Follow their instructions about when to stop taking a blood thinning medication you may take.
• Many of our patients take medications that are in the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)
pharmaceutical class which needs to be stopped at least 1 week before surgery. These medications include
Ibuprofen (also known as Motrin and Advil), Naproxen (Aleve), Diclofenac, and Meloxicam (Mobic).
• Many herbal supplements, such as fish oil or glucosamine/chondroitin, should be stopped 2 weeks before
surgery as they can cause more bleeding or affect how your body responds to other medications.
• Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is safe to continue to take, and we encourage you to do so if need something to
help with the pain. You can take 1000mg (two 500mg or three 325mg tablets) every 8 hours before surgery.

If you have a medical condition that requires you to see a specialist (such as a cardiologist, pulmonologist,
nephrologist, hematologist, etc.), we will also need a clearance note from them stating that you are optimized to
undergo joint replacement surgery and any recommendations they may have. If you haven’t seen your specialist in over
6 months, we recommend you make an appointment as soon as possible.

COMPLETE THESE CLEARANCES PRIOR TO YOUR PREOPERATIVE APPOINTMENT WITH DR. ECCLES. We encourage
you to bring printed copies to your preoperative appointment as well in case we don’t receive them from your
other doctor. If we are missing any clearances prior to your preoperative appointment, your visit and/or surgery will
need to be cancelled and rescheduled.

All clearance notes, EKG, and labs need to be faxed to (480) 388-3519

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