The Anesthesia
You won't feel a thing!
The type of anaesthesia that will be used in your case depends on the type of procedure performed as well as your own preferences.
There are four different types of anaesthesia:
Local Anaesthesia numbs just the area that the operation is going to take place in. You are fully awake, you can still feel pressure and touching, but you can feel no pain. It is much like the injection you have at the dentist. The initial injection may sting for a few seconds but very soon the area goes numb. Local anaesthesia is usually administered by the surgeon.
Regional Anaesthesia numbs a whole region of the body, such as an arm or a leg. You are fully awake but you cannot feel anything in the anaesthetized part of your body. There are several kinds of regional anaesthesia; the two most common are spinal anaesthesia and epidural anaesthesia. Regional anaesthesia is usually administered by an anaesthesiologist.
Sedation, otherwise known as "twilight sleep", makes you feel relaxed and sleepy. You are awake and conscious and you can respond to verbal commands, but you may easily doze off. Most patients have little recollection of what happened during their surgery. Sedation is administered by an anaesthesiologist with careful monitoring. Sedation is usually combined with local or regional anaesthesia to provide a more pleasant experience.
In General Anaesthesia you are unconscious and have no awareness or other sensations. You cannot feel any pain and you have no recollection of your surgery. General Anaesthesia is always administered by an anaesthesiologist under careful monitoring. Once the surgery is over, the anaesthesiologist will reverse the anaesthesia to allow you to regain consciousness. General anaesthesia is usually complemented by local anaesthesia to allow for a more superficial anaesthetic, and help with the post-operative pain control.
Most of our cases are performed as day cases. This means that you do not need to stay overnight in the hospital, and that you will be well enough to complete your recovery at home or in your hotel room. This is also known as Ambulatory Anaesthesia and Ambulatory Surgery. Ambulatory anaesthesia is designed so you can leave the hospital soon after your operation. Short acting anaesthetic drugs and specialized anaesthetic techniques are used to make your experience safe and pleasant.
In general, if you are in good health, you are a candidate for ambulatory anaesthesia and surgery. Because each patient is unique, your health status will be carefully evaluated by your surgeon and your anaesthesiologist, to determine if you should undergo ambulatory anesthesia for the particular procedure.
