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UPMC Center for Perioperative Care

People who are at their best potential health before surgery often have a faster recovery.

At the UPMC Center for Perioperative Care (CPC), our focus is on helping patients prepare for an upcoming surgery that requires anesthesia. Our team works with patients and other specialists to develop a personalized care plan to optimize health, avoid surgical complications, and improve the recovery experience. We call this perioperative care or pre-habilitation.

What Is Perioperative Care?

Your doctor will refer you to the CPC for treatment before your surgery. Taking time before surgery is called, a "surgical pause."

A surgical pause gives provides time to assess the patient and lower the risks of surgery. We tailor care to each patient’s unique needs. This treatment may involve helping to improve your health before moving forward with surgery.

The CPC team uses its “Risk Analysis Index” to evaluate patients waiting for non-essential surgery. We use this tool to assess your level of risk of having complications during or after surgery.

We also may find that a safer, non-surgical treatment is a better option. If it is determined that surgery is not the best path forward, the CPC team will offer alternative care options. The CPC team includes your primary care provider, a surgeon, and other experts. They work together with a CPC anesthesiologist, who leads the team.

Patients will work with their "surgery coach." This coach will mentor and support patients on their journey to prepare for surgery.

Join Our Free Virtual Pain Relief Skills Class

If you are getting treatment for pain or preparing for surgery at UPMC, you can attend a 2-hour, single-session class that focuses on evidence-based skills to help you manage pain. Family members and/or support persons also may attend the class.

The class is led by certified Empowered Relief® instructors. It provides information to help reduce pain intensity, decrease its impact on daily life, and improve sleep quality. During the class, you will:

  • Learn about chronic pain and ways to manage it effectively.
  • Gain pain relief skills that you can use right away.
  • Receive a free relaxation audio file.
  • Create a personalized plan for pain relief.

The class is offered quarterly.

Next Class: Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024
Time: 3 to 5 p.m. EST
Registration is required. To register, visit Online Registration (asapconnected.com)

For questions, please contact pain@upmc.edu.

How Does the UPMC Center for Perioperative Care Help?

Our mission at CPC is to find and reduce the factors that put people at risk during surgery. This work is vital for those having surgery, their loved ones, and the health care teams that support us all.

Our system will address your:

  • Concerns about needing anesthesia or surgery.
  • Nutritional status.
  • Need for physical heart or lung therapy.
  • Need for weight loss.
  • Chronic pain needs.
  • Tobacco, drug, and alcohol use.
  • Mental health issues, if any, and treatment to address them.
  • Need to access social work support.

We also detect people at high risk of issues during and after surgery based on their physical health and known diseases.

Research has linked these factors to:

  • Deaths and injuries.
  • Bad outcomes from surgery.
  • Low-value care.

The stats

  • 30% of people who end up in the ICU were high-risk surgeries.
  • 70% of the people who die after surgery are high-risk.
  • 90% of post-op care in the hospital goes to high-risk patients.

Our data shows that having high-risk people consult with the CPC team and prepare for surgery helps:

  • Shorten their hospital stay by about a day.
  • Reduce the risk of getting another illness while in the hospital.
  • Lower the likelihood they'll end up back in the hospital.

These stats mean that our perioperative treatment leads to:

  • All-around better outcomes.
  • Higher quality care.
  • Higher satisfaction.
  • Cost savings.

Overall, the people we treat and the surgeons we work with have had positive responses to our efforts.

About the CPC

  • The CPC is part of the UPMC Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine.
  • The first CPC clinic opened in 2016 at UPMC Shadyside, and a second site opened at UPMC Presbyterian in 2017.
  • In 2019, UPMC Presby's Pre-op Evaluation Center merged with CPC into a single service.

View the UPMC Center for Perioperative Care locations.