FAQs

In order to accommodate our patients, the WSC makes appointments available at a variety of hours. We are open Monday-Friday, and our aim is to schedule a consultation and/or surgery at a time that is convenient for you.

Consultations usually take place at our facility. However, to expedite the process or if geographically more convenient for the patient, we may arrange for the consultation to take place in the office of the particular surgeon you have requested.

A fee of $75 is charged for each consultation unless otherwise specified. Please contact us to arrange an appointment with the appropriate physician or surgeon at a time that is convenient to you. If you have decided to proceed with surgery, you may need to be seen by an anesthesiologist preoperatively to determine your medical fitness for an anesthetic.

Although variable in duration, consultations generally last approximately 30 minutes.

It all depends on the type of surgery you are requesting. We will place you with the surgeon that specializes in that particular procedure.

The surgeons at our facility are all board-certified with privileges to major Winnipeg hospitals. All of our surgeons have been approved by the College of Physicians and Surgeons to perform surgery at WSC. If you need any further information on a particular surgeon beyond what is available on our website, you are welcome to contact the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba.

Depending on the degree of medical ‘work-up’ required prior to your surgery, you will usually have your surgery scheduled between 1 to 4 weeks after your consultation. For traveling clients, we may be able to arrange a consult and surgery in one trip. Some restrictions may apply.

When a child (or a person of any age with a disability) needs extensive dental treatment, general anesthesia may be recommended to make delivery of that required treatment possible in a safe and comfortable manner.

For most parents, the thought of their child undergoing general anesthesia is by far the most frightening part of any planned surgery. Modern anesthesia is extremely safe. Millions of people have general anesthesia every year without any difficulty. The actual risk of a fatal event under anesthesia (for an otherwise healthy child) is about 1 in 300,000. To put that in perspective, the risk of a fatal automobile accident while riding in a car (in the United States, over a one year period) is about 1 in 6500.

Your child’s anesthetic will be given by a fully trained and experienced board-certified anesthesiologist. You will meet this doctor just before the surgery.

O
ur main concern is, of course, the safety of your child. While the protocol at WSC allows one parent to come into the room at the beginning of the case (once the child is ‘asleep’, you are instructed to leave the room as quickly as possible), you may want to consider not being in the room at all. Seeing a parent having a strong emotional reaction is not reassuring to the child and may actually be worse than having to go through the procedure alone. And it goes without saying that having a parent faint is not only frightening to the child, but also would result in the need to direct medical attention away from the patient! We want to pay 100% attention to your child.

Parents are not allowed in the operating room during the surgery itself, even if they are physicians.

After surgery, children are slowly emerging from a very deep sleep and usually don’t remember much until later on in the recovery period. Regardless, at WSC we do all we can to make sure that you are separated from your child for the shortest amount of time possible.

All surgeries take place at our facility where we have four state-of-the-art operating rooms and a large post-operative recovery unit.

All patients must be seen by their family physician prior to surgery for a general medical assessment. For patients that are 40 or older or patients with problems relating to high blood pressure, we require an ECG test as well as hemoglobin and other blood work. Blood work is required for any surgery taking 3 hours or more. Other tests might be required depending on the physical history of the patient.

Detailed preoperative instructions will be provided prior to the date of your surgery. Most surgical procedures require you refrain from eating past midnight, but you may have clear fluids (‘clear’ = water, apple or cranberry juice (no orange juice), black coffee or tea (with no cream, creamer or milk)) up to four hours prior to surgery. Preferably, the longer you abstain from smoking, the better your surgical outcome will be. Smoking has implications for the anesthetic and adversely influences the healing process after surgery. Ideally, you should refrain from smoking as long as you can. However, at the very least, you should not smoke the day of your surgery.

Be sure to check with your surgeon. Most medications are safe but some should not be taken.

Depending on the surgery, you may be required to bring crutches or a cane to assist you. Please be sure to leave all valuables at home。

Absolutely not! Every patient MUST be accompanied by a responsible adult who may either drive you home or accompany you home in a taxi. Public transportation is not an option. Your surgery will be cancelled if you cannot guarantee an escort to drive you home post-surgery.

At WSC, we attempt to make visits for out-of-town patients as comfortable as possible. We are honoured that you would travel a great distance to be with us. Sometimes our surgeons ask that you stay in the city overnight following your surgery. This allows the surgeon to check on your condition and deal with any issues before the journey home. While there are many hotels in Winnipeg, patients from WSC generally stay at the Hilton Garden Inn Winnipeg South, conveniently located near our surgical facility. This modern property features comfortable guest rooms, a fully-equipped Business Centre, free Wireless High-Speed Internet Access, and a complimentary shuttle to and from Western Surgery Centre. Hilton Garden Inn Winnipeg South, 495 Sterling Lyon Parkway, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2P 1J9. Call (204) 597-7455 to make your reservation.

We require a 25% down payment, and the full balance 2 weeks prior to surgery.

A variety of payment options are available to our patients. We accept CASH, DEBIT, VISA, MASTERCARD, and bank draft/certified cheque payable to Western Surgery Centre. We do not accept personal cheques.

Western Surgery Centre accepts payment from the following independent financing companies:

CREDIT MEDICAL – Patients can apply online (www.creditmedical.com) or fill out an application through the Western Surgery Centre and fax it to 1-800-274-1471. Patient’s have the option of borrowing the full or partial amount for their cosmetic or elective surgery. To speak to a representative, patients should call their toll free number: 1-800-270-9290.

MEDICARD – Patients can complete the application online (www.medicard.com) or fill out an application (available at the Western Surgery Centre) and fax it to 1-888-689-9862. To speak to a representative, patients should call their toll free number: 1-888-689-9876

CRELOGIX – Patients can complete the application online (https://crelogix.com/western-surgery-centre)  or fill    out an application (available at the Western Surgery Centre) and fax it to 1-888-689-9862. To speak to a representative, patients should call their toll free number: 1-844-552-7759