Anesthesia Basics

Surgeons and other Doctors consult us to provide anesthesia for a variety of procedures.  Depending on the procedure, different types of anesthesia may be appropriate.  After an interview and medical evaluation, our Anesthesiologist will discuss the options and then determine the most appropriate anesthetic for each patient.

The main types of anesthesia include:

• General Anesthesia

  The patient is completely asleep throughout the procedure and does not hear or feel anything.  Usually a breathing tube or mouth piece is used to maintain normal breathing during the procedure.

• Nerve block 

  A variety of nerve blocks may be performed to numb limbs or regions of the body.  Spinal or epidural blocks numb the patient from the waist down.  Blocks restrict the affected area from movement and eliminate pain sensation.  Because the affected area is numb, a patient with a block may not need to be deeply asleep.  In these cases, a lighter depth of sedation is achieved with intravenous medications.  Some surgeries require general anesthesia in conjunction with a nerve block.

• Light Sedation

  The patient is relaxed and made comfortable with intravenous medications.  This anesthetic is commonly used for less invasive procedures, or those in which the surgeon injects local anesthesia to numb the surgical site.

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