Frequently Asked Questions about Anesthesia
What are the risks of having anesthesia? Improved monitoring and better medications have greatly improved the safety of anesthesia. Every medical procedure has some risk. The risk of anesthesia depends on many factors, including what type of surgery and your health. Fortunately, adverse events are rare. Since the risk varies depending on your type of surgery and your medical condition, your anesthesiologist can best answer this question.
Who is in charge of my anesthetic? Your NAP anesthesiologist is a physician who is board certified (or board eligible) by the American Board of Anesthesiology. Our physicians have completed four years of medical school, then an additional year of internship, followed by three more years of intense training in anesthesia. Many of our NAP anesthesiologist have completed an additional year of specialty training. Your anesthesia maybe supervised by an anesthesiologist and performed by a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA).
Is there a possibility I could “wake up” during anesthesia? The possibility of being awake and aware during surgery is exceedingly uncommon. It may happen under special circumstances such as emergency surgery if a patient is in shock, meaning their body is not able to tolerate the anesthetic. With different types of anesthesia, for example Monitored Anesthesia Care, you may be awake or sleepy during all or parts of the procedure.
What are the side effects of anesthesia? Anesthetics affect everyone differently. The more common side effects include:
- Nausea-it affects about one third of people undergoing general anesthesia. If nausea has been a problem with past anesthetic experiences, let your anesthesiologist know. There are ways to tailor the anesthetic to help improve your nausea.
- Drowsiness-you may feel drowsy and tired for hours after your surgery. Anesthetics wear off differently for different people. After your surgery, you will be closely monitored by a nurse until you feel more awake and are able to answer questions.
- Sore throat-when you asleep for your surgery you will have a soft plastic tube in your throat to make sure your airway is open. This allows air to move in and out easily. Even when this tube is placed gently and carefully, you may still experience a sore throat. This soreness usually improves after one day. Damage to your throat or your vocal cords is rare.
- Damage to teeth-can happen during the placement of the breathing tube or if when waking up you bite down on the plastic. Having poor oral hygiene increases the risk of damage to teeth.