Library / disease-condition-overview
Understanding anesthesia
Audience: patients-public, students-learners ยท Review state: published
What it is
Anesthesia is the use of medicines to block pain and other sensations during surgery and medical procedures. It lets procedures happen safely and comfortably that would otherwise be impossible to tolerate.
An anesthesiologist, or a trained anesthesia provider, chooses the type, gives the medicines, and watches breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure throughout.
The main types
Local anesthesia numbs a small area while you stay fully awake, as for a skin biopsy or dental work. Regional anesthesia numbs a larger part of the body, such as an epidural for childbirth or a spinal block for leg surgery.
Sedation relaxes you and may make you drowsy or unaware of the procedure, while general anesthesia makes you completely unconscious and unaware, used for major operations.
Before and after
Before anesthesia you will be asked about your health, medicines, allergies, and previous reactions, and usually told not to eat or drink for a set number of hours, because a full stomach raises the risk of inhaling stomach contents while unconscious.
After general anesthesia, common short-lived effects include grogginess, nausea, a sore throat from the breathing tube, and chills. Most people are fully alert within hours, though judgment and coordination can be off for the rest of the day, which is why you should not drive.
Safety
Modern anesthesia is very safe for most people, and serious complications are rare. Risk is higher with significant heart, lung, or kidney disease, obesity, sleep apnea, smoking, and older age, which the anesthesia team assesses and plans for in advance.
Telling the team everything about your health, medicines, and previous anesthetic experiences is the most useful thing you can do for your own safety.
Limitations
General educational overview, not medical advice. Anesthesia plans are individual and made by the anesthesia team for each patient and procedure.