Wear comfortable clothes and leave unnecessary valuables at home. The nurse will bring you back to an exam room and ask you several questions, including how bad your pain feels on a 0 – 10 scale. The nurse will place an IV, and the doctor will be in to discuss the steps involved in the procedure, expected outcomes, and answer any questions. You will be asked to sign a consent giving Dr. Tavel permission to do the procedure. You will then be taken into the procedure room where will make every effort to make you comfortable on the procedure table. After the completion of the procedure, you will be monitored in the recovery room for any side effects. Prior to your release, we will ask for a post injection pain score. This score is important for diagnostic purposes. You and your driver will be given follow-up instructions during checkout.
Yes. Patients having procedures are given Versed to help them relax, and are considered legally impaired for 6-8 hours after the procedure. We understand this might be an inconvenience but this is a very important precaution. It is also important that your driver wait at our facility during your procedure so that we may call them to go over post-procedure instructions and check you out when you are ready to leave.
Patients should NOT eat or drink anything four hours before their procedure because they will be sedated during the procedure. If a patient needs to take their regular medication, it is alright to take it with a few sips of water. Diabetic patients may drink small amounts of juice up to 1 hour prior to procedure.
Yes. Please continue to take your usual medications for other health conditions. The ONLY exception would be blood thinners, such as Plavix, Pletal or Coumadin. If you are taking a blood thinner, please inform our office and nurse at your first visit to our office. With your doctor’s approval, you will need to stop taking your blood thinner medication 3-5 days prior to your procedure.
Typically from the time a patient arrives until the time a patient is checked out of the facility will be between 1 hour to 1 ½ hours. We usually have a very punctual clinic, but sometimes emergencies and the treatment of complicated patients can cause some delays.
*If you have had an
Epidural Steroid Injection, you should have a relaxing day. You do not have to be bed ridden, but you should limit your activities to your home. You should not go back to work or make any major decisions for the remainder of the day. The benefits of the injection may be affected if you are over-active (do yard work, go shopping all afternoon, fix the roof, go jogging, etc.).
*If you have had a Medial Branch Block, you should go do things that would normally aggravate your pain. For example, if you have had a Lumbar Medial Branch Block for your lower back and you normally wouldn’t be able to touch your toes or mow the lawn, you should try to do those things over the 6 – 8 hours after your Medial Branch Block. This “test” of your pain will let our physician know whether or not the procedure was successful. If you attempt to do something on the day of your Medial Branch Block that you normally couldn’t do, but you can do without pain the day of your procedure, our physician knows he has put the correct nerve to sleep.
You will need to be off of work after your procedure. You will not be able to drive or work. We will write you a work excuse for the day of the procedure. Unfortunately, we are NOT able to write you a note for any day other than the day of your appointments or procedures.
You should only come in to an appointment if you have been on antibiotics for 48 hours. If a patient has an uncontrollable cough and is unable to lie still on the procedure table, their appointment will have to be rescheduled for a later date.
We would prefer that patients wait at least 24 hours after receiving the flu shot to come in for their procedure.
No, we do NOT complete Disability Determination forms.
We also DO NOT provide notes for patients to have long-term leave from work. We WILL write you and/or your driver a work excuse for the day of your procedure/appointment.
We are a referral-based practice. This means that we will accept New Patients based on referrals from primary care physicians, internal medicine physicians, neurosurgeons, neurologists, orthopedic physicians, podiatrists, rheumatologists, psychiatrists, chiropractors or physical therapists.
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From Charleston: Follow I-26 West to North Charleston Exit 205-B to 78 (University Blvd). Once on University Blvd (Hwy 78), go through two stop lights. After the 2
nd stop light, turn Right onto Tricom Street (at the Dunkin Donuts). Our office is located on the Left at 2791 Tricom Street, Suite B & C.
-From Columbia: Take 26 East to Exit 205 A. Go back over the interstate past Trident Hospital. Make a Right onto Tricom Street (at the Dunkin Donuts). Our office is located on the Left at 2791 Tricom Street, Suite B & C.
-From Goose Creek/Moncks Corner: Take Hwy 52 East towards I-26. Continue on to Hwy 78 towards Trident Hospital. Turn Left onto Tricom Street (at the Dunkin Donuts). Our office is located on the Left at 2791 Tricom Street, Suite B & C.
Each patient’s appointment cost will vary depending on the type of insurance he/she has. One to two days before each appointment you have, our office staff will call to remind you about your upcoming appointment. At that time, they will let you know how much your co-pay is going to be at the time of your visit.
No, unfortunately we are currently not taking any self-pay patients.
We also DO NOT take the following insurances:
-Carolina Crescent
-CWI – Roper St. Francis
-Select Health/First Choice
-South Carolina Community Care
-Unison
If you have any questions about your insurance or if you have received a bill that you do not understand, please call Diane in the Billing Department at 843-725-1243.
