Ambulatory (Outpatient) Surgery

Alameda County Medical Center offers comprehensive surgery facilities at the Highland Hospital Campus. About 4,000 procedures are performed annually, ranging from major trauma cases to elective procedures performed on an outpatient basis. Our surgery program is affiliated with the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine.

The surgical specialties providing service to patients at Highland are General Surgery, Trauma, Orthopedics, GYN, Ophthalmology, Dental/Oral Surgery, Neurology, Plastic, Urology, ENT, and Vascular. The most frequent outpatient procedures are Orthopedics, General Surgery (hernias, laproscopic gallbladders, soft tissue excisions such as breast biopsies)and Ophthalmology (cataracts).

The Ambulatory Surgery Unit provides services for pre-operative and post-operative elective surgical outpatients. In addition, the ASU provides care for outpatients receiving diagnostic/therapeutic procedures, i.e., bronchoscopies, lumbar punctures, thoracentesis, and blood transfusions. Most patients receiving care in the ASU are discharged the same day. On occasion the patient may require admission to the acute hospital when his/her condition warrants closer observation by medical personnel.

All patients scheduled for elective surgery are to be seen in the Pre-Anesthesia Clinic by the day before surgery. They are interviewed by an RN and examined by an Anesthesiologist. Individualized teaching is provided to all the patients in order to identify individual needs, and to assure these needs are met.

A Pre-Op Nurse is assigned to each patient to guide him or her through each step of the elective surgery process.

Another great asset to our Surgery Program is our bilingual capability. Interpreters are available to assist patients preoperatively and post-operatively. We also offer interpretation for the deaf.

Physical and emotional assessment and management of patients is provided pre-operatively and post-operatively to ensure the patient’s safety, comfort, education, and to promote well being and healing.

In 2004 the surgical team moved into spacious new quarters in the Koret Foundation Critical Care and Clinical Center on the Highland campus. In June, 2006, these surgical suites were named in memory of Claude H. Organ, Jr., M.D. (1927 - 2005), former Chair of Surgery and Director of the surgical residency program.