Black Mountain Orthopaedics

Patient Information

Office Hours
Our office is open Monday - Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm.

Appointments
To schedule an appointment, please call (702) 564-1234. We will do our best to accommodate you at your desired date and time. If you are running late or are unable to make your scheduled appointment, please contact the office as soon as possible. We reserve the right to charge patients for missed appointments.

Please be sure to bring with you proper identification as well as any insurance information. If you have been referred from another doctor, please be sure to bring with you any previous X-rays, MRI's or operative reports.

Accepted Health Care Plans
Click here for our accepted plans

Online Forms
Please print out and complete the Medical History Form, as well as one of the following forms, and bring with you on your first scheduled appointment:

Patient Forms (select appropriate form)
New Patient
Workman's Compensation (for patients injured on the job)

Note: You will need Acrobat Reader to view some of the above forms.

Pre-Operative Preparation

Pre-Operative Visit
You will typically meet with the doctor and/or his physician assistant for a pre-operative history and physical exam. This is an opportunity to rule out any last minute physical problems which may preclude surgery such as a severe head cold, an infection, or heart or lung problems. This is the great time to ask any questions about surgery or what to expect post-operatively.

You are required to pre-register at the hospital or surgery center where your surgery will be taking place. Many patients choose to do this on the same day as their pre-operative history and physical.

The Day before Surgery
You will need to have an absolutely empty stomach before surgery. In general, this means that you cannot eat or drink anything after midnight the day before your surgery. If you take blood pressure medication, anti-seizure medication or diabetes medication, you should take them on your regular schedule, using as little water as possible to allow you to swallow the pills. You may be given a dose of Celebrex to take the morning of your surgery to help with post-operative pain.

The Day of Surgery
Knee and Shoulder arthroscopy are outpatient surgeries. This means that you should be able to go home after you have recovered sufficiently from anesthesia. You will be required to have a responsible adult drive you home. Note: A cab driver is not considered a responsible adult. Typically you will be asked to arrive at the hospital 60-90 minutes before your surgery in order to have sufficient time to be prepared for surgery. If your surgery is scheduled later in the day, we urge you to call the hospital before leaving home and ask how the doctor's surgery schedule is going. This will help prevent long waits if an earlier surgery took longer than scheduled. Expect to spend 3-5 hours in the hospital. Please let us know the names of family or friends who will be waiting for you so that the doctor can meet them after surgery.

Post-Operative Information

Knee and Shoulder Arthroscopy
You will be wrapped in a bulky compressive dressing which should minimize swelling and absorb the fluid used in arthroscopy. If you had a shoulder arthroscopy, an arm sling or shoulder immobilizer will be placed on you before you leave the operating room. If you had knee arthroscopy, you will be given crutches and should be able to bear weight as tolerated unless specifically told to avoid this by the doctor. Do not be concerned if you get some blood stained or clear fluid soaking through the dressing. This is normal.

Ice should be applied to your knee or shoulder as much as possible for the first 48 hours. The dressing can be removed at 48 hours or rewrapped sooner if you feel that it is too tight.

You normally will have three or four incisions about 1/3 of an inch in length with "steri-strips" on them to help seal the skin edges. These strips should stay on. If there is some seepage from the wounds please cover them with cotton gauze (available at local drugstores). You can shower or bathe anytime but the wounds should stay dry for 3 days. Pain medication will be prescribed and should be taken as needed to control pain. Often ice and elevation are more effective in reducing pain than narcotics.

For shoulder arthroscopy, the type of surgery you have will determine whether you can begin to use the arm immediately or not. If you do not have a rotator cuff repair, the arm can be removed from the sling and you can begin to move the arm as tolerated. If a rotator cuff repair is performed you must not use any of the muscles in the shoulder region and the immobilizer should stay on at all time except bathing. During bathing, the arm should hang passively by your side.

Follow-up
You will typically return to see the doctor 3-6 days after surgery. We will review pictures and findings or your surgery. Physical therapy will typically be ordered and the healing process begins! Please discuss issues such as limitations at work, handicap DMV placards and pain medication at this time.

After Hours
Call (702) 564-1234 and follow the prompt on the voice message. When leaving a voice message, please be sure to speak clearly and leave your name and phone number; we will return your call the next business day.

To reach a doctor after hours, select the answering service prompt. The service will contact the doctor on your behalf. If you have an emergency, contact 911 as soon as possible.