Anesthesia

Anesthesia has made so many medical advances possible, no wonder it's called "the gentle sleep". Our anesthesiologists will be with you before, during and after your treatment to assure the process runs smoothly.

Five Main Types of Anesthesia

• General Anesthesia – a state of deep sleep
• IV Sedation – a state of light sleep
• Monitored Anesthesia Care – local anesthetic injections as well as constant monitoring by an anesthesiologist.
• Regional Anesthesia – the injection of a local anesthetic to provide numbness, loss of pain or loss of sensation to a large area of the body. These include spinal blocks, epidural blocks and arm and leg blocks. Medications can be given to cause drowsiness and blur your memory.
• Local Anesthesia – numbness to a small area that may be injected by the surgeon.

Side Effects

The anesthesiologist will discuss the risks and benefits of the different anesthetic options, in addition to any complications or side effects that can occur with each kind of anesthetic. Although this has become less of a problem because of improved anesthetic agents and techniques, some side effects continue to occur for a few patients.

Nausea or vomiting may be due to anesthesia or the type of surgical procedure, but there are medications available to treat it. The amount of discomfort a patient experiences will depend on several factors, especially the type of surgery. Although the doctors and nurses can relieve pain with medications to keep discomfort at a tolerable level, it may be impossible to be totally pain free.