The Anesthesia Team
You will meet and discuss your anesthetic plan with the anesthesiologist on the day of your surgery. Typically, the anesthesiologist works with a CRNA, or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, to provide adequate anesthesia, analgesia and amnesia during your surgery. After reviewing your medical history, your anesthesiologist, in consultation with your surgeon, will determine the best type of anesthesia for you, taking your desires into consideration whenever possible.
There are three main categories of anesthesia: general, regional and local. Each has many forms and uses. These options will be discussed during your preoperative interview with the anesthesiologist.
General Anesthesia involves the total loss of consciousness, pain sensation and protective airway responses.
Local Anesthesia provides numbness to a small area of the body, such as a dermatologist might use to numb the skin around a mole before removing it. For some surgical procedures, a local anesthetic may be injected into the skin and tissues to numb a specific location.
Regional Anesthesia involves your anesthesiologist injecting medication near a cluster of nerves to numb only the area of your body that requires surgery. If appropriate, you may be offered a peripheral nerve block to decrease pain after surgery.