Optimization of Pre-operative Oral Analgesics in Patients Undergoing Ambulatory Minimally Invasive Hysterectomy

Patients will be screened, enrolled, consented, and randomized during the preoperative office encounter, typically occurring within the 30 days prior to surgery. Patients randomized to pre-admission administration (study group) will be provided with a prescription for a one-time dosing of routine oral non-narcotic analgesic medications to be filled at the Cleveland Clinic outpatient pharmacy. Both the study and the control groups will receive written pre-operative instructions. Those patients randomized to the standard practice of administration in the pre-anesthesia unit (control group) will be administered the same medications in the same doses by the nursing staff. Patients in both groups will undergo general anesthesia, orogastric tube placement, and minimally invasive hysterectomy (MIH). Postoperatively, these patients will be observed for differences in PACU narcotic uptake, pain scores, patient satisfaction, and surgical recovery.