SURGICAL HOLDING AREA
Before going to surgery, you may be given a sedative to relax you. You will be taken to the surgical holding area on a stretcher. Your family member or significant other will be directed to the waiting area. The surgical holding area may seem busy and noisy. You may see other patients, surgical staff in gowns and masks, and technical equipment. Your nurse anesthetist or anesthesiologist will greet you in the surgical holding area and bring you into the operating room on the stretcher.