Anesthesia

Anesthesia is an important part of surgery. It allows you to have surgery without feeling any sensation or pain. It may also be used to make you fall asleep. Then you won’t be awake during surgery. The most common types of anesthesia are described below.

Anesthesia is defined as the "absence of feel." Anesthetics do this by numbing the nerves so they cannot feel. You may also be given sedative/hypnotic drugs or pain medication. The type of anesthesia you have will depend on the following:

  • type of surgery
  • physical part of the body involved
  • your medical condition

There are three forms of anesthetics that are given before surgery. Anesthetics may be given locally. When they are, they are injected into the surgical site. They may be given regionally. This is done by injection into the area surrounding a certain group of nerves. They may be given generally through inhalation. These three forms of anesthesia are described in more detail below.

Local Anesthesia

With local anesthesia an anesthetic is injected into the area being operated on. It is commonly used for minor surgeries. For instance, it might be used for a biopsy. You would usually be awake during the procedure. Sometimes, though, you may be sedated (asleep). That way you are less aware of the surgery.

Regional (Conduction) Anesthesia

Regional anesthesia also uses an injection. The anesthetic is put into an area that surrounds certain nerves. These nerves carry sensation from a region. Examples include spinal or epidural anesthesia. These usually take away sensation below the waist. This kind of anesthesia is sometimes used in pelvic surgeries. For instance, it might be used when general anesthesia would be too risky. If you have severe cardiac or lung disease, for instance, you would remain awake during surgery. Sometimes a narcotic can be given regionally. This helps control pain after surgery.

General Anesthesia

With general anesthesia you breathe the anesthetic in. You also receive intravenous sedation and pain medication. You do not stay awake for the surgery. For major surgeries, you usually take medicines that block all muscle activity (paralysis). That means you need assisted breathing. This is done with a mechanical ventilator. It involves having a breathing tube inserted into your trachea (wind pipe). Newer techniques have been developed for minor surgeries. With these, mechanical ventilation can be done without a breathing tube. This technique is known as laryngeal mask anesthesia (LMA). It uses a soft "mask." The mask is put into the back of your mouth and placed over your vocal cords.