Preparing for Surgery
If you are preparing for surgery, there are some critical steps you can take to help ensure the best possible outcome:
Ask for a physician anesthesiologist to deliver your anesthesia.
As a general rule, you should not eat or drink anything after midnight before your surgery. — Under most circumstances, your physician anesthesiologist may give you permission to drink water up to four (4) hours before your anesthesia is scheduled to be administered. Be sure to contact your physician, surgeon or hospital for specific rules prior to your procedure.
If you smoke and you’re scheduled for surgery, your physician anesthesiologists will recommend you take immediate steps to quit and remain smoke-free until at least one week following your procedure—or indefinitely. Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do to recover from surgery without complications. People who smoke have an increased chance of complications during and after surgery, including bronchospasm, larygospasm, pneumonia, wound infections and heart attacks. The earlier you quit smoking before surgery, the lower your chances of complications.
Make arrangements for a responsible adult to take you home after your anesthetic or sedation. You will need to have someone else drive, and accompany, you home. You should have someone stay with you during the first 24 hours. If you have local anesthesia with no sedation, it may be possible to go home without someone to accompany you. Check with your physician first.
If you take medication(s) it is important to inform your physician anesthesiologist. There are some medications you should continue and others that you should not take such as:
Angiontensin II Receptor Blockers should not be taken before surgery:
Azilsartan (Edarbi)
Candesartan (Atacand)
Eprosartan
Irbesartan (Avapro)
Losartan (Cozaar)
Olmesartan (Benicar)
Telmisartan (Micardis)
Valsartan (Diovan)
Beta Blockers, and Calcium Channel Blockers are OK the morning of surgery (if this is your usual schedule).
When in doubt please contact our office at (408.828.5973)
Wear loose-fitting clothes – that are easy to put on and will fit over bulky bandages or surgical dressings. Leave your jewelry and valuables at home.
Plan for recovery time — You will be moved to a recovery room after your procedure where your breathing and heart function will be monitored. In most cases you will be able to go home soon after the procedure, usually within one hour, perhaps longer if you have moderate or deep sedation. Have someone stay with you the first 24 hours after you return home, and plan to rest. You should not drive or drink alcohol for a day, especially if you are taking pain medication. Delay making any important decisions for a day, or two, as well.
Be prepared for side effects — You may have soreness or pain after surgery. Pain medication will be prescribed if you have pain from the procedure. Sometimes this pain medication can cause nausea. If it does try sipping water from a glass. Do not use a straw; this can also cause nausea
Anesthesiology: An Overview
Anesthesiology is the practice of medicine dedicated to the relief of pain and total care of patients before, during and after surgery. Through research and the development of new procedures, physician anesthesiologists have advanced the field, leading to a dramatic decrease in anesthesia-related deaths over the past 25 years, from two deaths per 10,000 anesthetics administered to fewer than five deaths per million.
There are three main categories of anesthesia used in surgery and medical procedures, each having many forms and uses. They are:
General Anesthesia
In general anesthesia, you are unconscious and have no awareness or sensations. There are a number of general anesthetic drugs. Some are gases or vapors inhaled through a breathing mask or tube and others are medications introduced through a vein.
IV/Monitored Sedation
In IV/monitored sedation, sedation and analgesics usually are provided through an IV placed in a vein. It is typically is used for minor surgeries or shorter, less complex procedures when an injection of local anesthetic isn’t sufficient but deeper general anesthesia isn’t necessary.
Regional Anesthesia
In regional anesthesia, your physician anesthesiologist makes an injection near a cluster of nerves to numb the area of your body that requires surgery. You may remain awake or be given a sedative. Either way, you do not feel the surgery taking place. There are several kinds of regional anesthesia; the two most common are spinal anesthesia and epidural anesthesia.
Local Anesthesia
In local anesthesia, the anesthetic drug is usually injected into the tissue to numb just the location of your body requiring minor surgery or a procedure.
While any of the above forms of anesthesia may be used alone they can also be used in combination with each other. For instance in shoulder surgery General Anesthesia may be employed for the procedure but Regional Anesthesia (Interscalene or Shoulder Block) will be employed to decrease your pain perception for up to 12-36 hours (on average) after the procedure.