Surgery Centers

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an ASC?
ASC is the acronym for Ambulatory Surgery Center, which is a facility for patient surgeries that do not require a hospital stay. An ASC is a health care facility that meets very strict guidelines for care in providing surgical services in an outpatient setting. Procedures scheduled in an ASC generally do not require extended lengths of stay or extensive recovery or convalescent time.

ASCs offer different types of surgeries depending on their surgeons’ areas of expertise. Our surgeons specialize in orthopedic and Neurological spine surgeries at DISC Surgery Center at Newport Beach, as well as pain management procedures. The orthopedic and neurological spine surgeries are conducted using minimally invasive and advanced arthroscopic and endoscopic techniques where possible.

Current technology and surgical expertise now allows many surgeries to be done at an ASC. Generally, procedures scheduled in an ASC do not require extended lengths of stay or extensive recovery or convalescent time. When your procedure is one that can be done at an ASC, you get the choice of hospital level care, in a more intimate and specialized environment. By choosing to have your procedure done at DISC Surgery Center at Newport Beach, we offer you the benefit of not only your surgeon’s expertise, but also our center’s leading edge technology and our staff’s personal and attentive care. This combines to create an exceptional experience that results in quicker recovery for you as a patient. As our patient we ensure your safety by first cleaning the air you breathe using HEPA filters and ultra violet emitters, throughout the whole suite, not just the operating rooms. This is one of many steps we take to reduce your risk of infection and assure a quicker recovery. From admission through surgery and until you go home, you are cared for by a dedicated team who remain with you from start to finish providing true continuity of care.

Outpatient care can refer to numerous types of medical care offered to patients who are not staying overnight in a hospital. By this definition, an outpatient procedure is one that does not require an overnight stay in hospital. By law, a patient cannot stay more than 24 hours in an outpatient facility, and so the length of stay needed by a patient following their procedure determines whether they are in-patient (hospital stay) or out patient. Some confusion can exist with the concept of outpatient care for neurological and orthopedic spine cases, as traditionally these procedures were always considered major surgery that would need a hospital stay recovery. New minimally invasive spine surgery solutions allow patients to experience much less trauma to the tissue and muscles surrounding the surgical site, so their recovery can be as little as a few hours. The Diagnostic and Interventional Surgical Center in Marina del Rey was on the leading edge of this trend when it first opened in 2006, and it is based on that experience that DISC Surgery Center at Newport Beach was planned. DISC Surgery Center at Newport Beach can provide for recovery stays within the 23 hour window defined for overnight, for those who need a little extra time to recuperate prior to discharge in the morning. Outpatient procedures for patients that may have extenuating health conditions may be performed in a hospital setting for additional safety reasons.

DISC Surgery Center at Newport Beach was custom designed by our Founder, Dr Robert S Bray, Jr. His focus for this center is to provide the ultimate choice to local residents requiring spine surgery to be able to select a surgeon, center and procedure that can reduce their recovery time and risk of infection to allow them to return rapidly to their active lifestyles. To offer this choice Dr Bray designed a center with two large and world-class digital operating rooms. The suite was designed with careful attention to flow in all aspects of its functionality benefitting both the surgeon and patient safety. Our surgical center offers a higher standard of care than is traditionally available in a hospital setting, and the use of minimally invasive surgical techniques reduces the length of stay required to undergo major spinal and orthopedic surgeries and speeds recovery.

DISC Surgery Center at Newport Beach takes a very aggressive approach to eliminating the risk of infection, which is a major concern for any patient undergoing any procedure. As our patient we ensure your safety by first cleaning the air you breathe using HEPA filters and ultra violet emitters, throughout the whole suite, not just the operating rooms. This is one of many steps we take to reduce your risk of infection and assure a quicker recovery. The Diagnostic and Interventional Surgical Center in Marina del Rey was the first Center built by our founder Dr Robert Bray in 2006. We are very proud that after nearly five years of operation our infection rate is 0%, well below the national average of 3-4%. Without question, DISC Surgery Center at Newport Beach will continue to set a new standard nationally with its unprecedented protocols and procedures. Chief among them is the incredibly high standards and policies that the staff and physicians treating patients abide by. Very stringent rules and policies are in effect in regards to every aspect of our care and procedures from basic hygiene, such as hand washing to complex cleaning and quality control protocols. In addition all due care and attention was paid to the priority of patient care in the design of the surgical center, including investing in a $1MIL environmental air conditioning system throughout the center. This means that the throughout the suite, not just in the ultra-clean operating rooms, every air handler has true 99.71% efficient HEPA filters exceeding the industry standard, and as an added level of protection, UVC Emitters (ultraviolet) are used to destroy incoming airborne germs, bacteria and microorganisms. In addition, the air handling units for each OR and support sterile space are dedicated and separate to further eliminate any commingling of bacteria.

With the technological advances that are taking place in this highly-specialized field, many procedures that once were considered major operations are now being done with minimally invasive techniques. Using an ultra-high-powered microscope, the surgeon’s view of the surgical site is magnified, and by using specially designed surgical tools, the procedures can be done using a much smaller incision which reduces the trauma to the surrounding tissues and results in less blood loss and reduced pain, ultimately yielding faster recovery times.

The level of care offered by our nursing staff is extraordinary and offers an ICU-level of care throughout a patient’s brief stay. Generally the ratio never exceeds two patients per nurse. Our nursing staff is all ACLS certified and highly-trained in spine and orthopedic procedures, many with 10-20 plus years’ experience.

We have private patient rooms for overnight stays that are literally steps away from the nurses’ station. They are equipped with flat screen TVs and satellite service, full hospital beds with plush blankets that patients may take home with them. Most importantly, the same skilled nurses that attend to patients during the day are on staff overnight. In most instances it is one nurse for each patient and never more than two patients per nurse.

Depending on the type of surgery you have, you and your family or designated care-giver will be given detailed instructions on how to care for your wound, proper pain management protocols and all necessary bracing or stabilization devices. Our staff works with the entire family to ensure a smooth transition from the doctor’s office, to the surgery center and back to the doctor’s office for post-operative care.

Absolutely, yes. We adhere to the strictest of HIPAA policies. Every patient’s information is valuable and we take very proactive measures to secure these records protecting our patients privacy at all times.

An “Advance directive” is a general term that refers to your oral and written instructions about your future medical care, in the event that you become unable to speak for yourself. Each state regulates the use of advance directives differently. There are two types of advance directives: a living will and a medical power of attorney. These forms express your wishes regarding donation of organs and the designation of your primary physician. You may complete or modify all or any part of it and are free to use a different form.
The majority of procedures performed at the Surgery Center are considered to be of minimal risk. Of course, no surgery is without risk. You and your surgeon will review the specifics of your procedure and the risks associated with your operation, the expected recovery and the care after your surgery. It is the policy of the Surgery Center, regardless of the contents of any advance directive or instructions from a health care surrogate or attorney in fact, that if an adverse event occurs during your treatment at the Surgery Center, the personnel at the Surgery Center will initiate resuscitative or other stabilizing measures and transfer you to an acute care hospital for further evaluation. At the acute care hospital further treatment or withdrawal of treatment measures already begun will be ordered in accordance with your wishes, advance directive, or health care power of attorney.
Traditionally, there are two main kinds of advance directives: the living will and the Medical Power of Attorney for Health Care. California also allows the use of a POLST (Physician’s Orders For Life-Sustaining Treatment). An advance directive allows you to express your personal wishes and is based upon your own beliefs and values.