There are three main categories of anesthesia:

They may offer you the option of combining a required general anesthetic with a regional anesthetic for post-operative pain control (see regional anesthesia).

At the conclusion of surgery, your anesthesiologist will reverse the process and you will regain awareness in the recovery room. Many patients are afraid of the breathing tubes used during general anesthesia. The fact is that they often only cause minor throat irritation for a short time. There is a rare risk of dental/oral injury during the placement of these tubes, but your anesthesiologist is specially trained to do this as gently as possible. Some patients do remember there breathing tube “coming out” at the end of an operation. It is not painful but can produce some gagging. It is important to note that removing the breathing tube early to assure the patient will not remember is unsafe.

Anesthesiologists are your safety advocates during surgery and the immediate post-operative recovery period.

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There are several kinds of regional anesthesia. Two of the most frequently used are spinal anesthesia and epidural anesthesia, which are produced by injections made with great precision in the appropriate areas of the back. It seems that everyone has a horror story to tell about someone many years ago getting a spinal injury from this technique. As with everything in medicine, things change. Spinal/Epidural anesthesia is now a very safe and common anesthetic. Risk of neurological injury is very rare and the reported risk of spinal headaches is less than 0.5%. Many patients prefer the benefit of avoiding the drugs of general anesthesia for a little sedation and numbness. It is also quite interesting to note that a poll of practicing Anesthesiologists choose regional anesthesia for themselves more often than general anesthesia.

Another significant advantage of regional anesthesia is the ability to extent the nerve block into the post-operative period by use of an indwelling catheter. These can be placed blindly, by ultrasound, x-ray, or use of a nerve stimulator. These catheters allow your anesthesiologist to provide superior pain control, while limiting the amount of narcotics needed to control your pain. These blocks are most commonly preformed in the neck or shoulder for arm and hand surgery, or in the groin or back of the knee for leg and foot surgery.

Epidural catheters can be placed at appropriate levels of the spine to provide pain relief for anything from chest to foot surgery.

Your post-operative comfort is a priority of your anesthesiologist, so ask questions about your options.

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In local anesthesia, the anesthetic drug is usually injected into the tissue to numb just the specific area of your body requiring minor surgery, for example, to remove a small lesion on the hand, or to repair a laceration. Little or no sedation is given during a local procedure and unless prearranged by the surgeon, an Anesthesiologist will not be present.

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