FAQs on Anesthesia

General anesthesia involves a mixture of several medications that cause patients to fall asleep. These medications help to ensure the brain doesn’t respond to any pain signals or reflexes, as you would if you were awake. Patients under general anesthesia won’t feel any pain or discomfort during their procedure and won’t remember anything after the fact. Not just any healthcare professional can give general anesthesia. This medication is typically administered by a doctor who has had specialized training in anesthesia and knows how to properly monitor body functions and breathing while you’re under anesthesia.

Unlike general anesthesia, patients aren’t fully unconscious after using local anesthesia. Rather, local anesthesia only aims to numb a specific part of the body affected by the operation. The anesthetic is only applied to a certain part of the body and significantly reduces pain throughout your procedure at GI Specialists of Georgia. In contrast to general anesthesia, this variety lasts a much shorter period of time. Hence, we only use local anesthesia for minor procedures in which you won’t need to stay with us overnight. Although local anesthesia won’t fully put you to sleep, it has been shown to greatly decrease patients’ stress levels while undergoing surgery.

The question of local vs. general anesthesia will be decided by your doctor after consulting with you. Which form of anesthesia you need greatly depends on how invasive your surgery will be and how much pain it might cause. At GI Specialists of Georgia, we want you to be as comfortable as possible. We’ll always recommend the type of anesthesia that will allow you to feel the least discomfort and experience the fewest side effects.

Many patients ask how general anesthesia is given. Depending on the type and strength of anesthesia, this answer varies. Most times, the team at GI Specialists of Georgia uses an intravenous line in your arm to deliver anesthesia medications. In other instances, we might opt for a gaseous anesthesia you breathe in through a mask. After you fall asleep, we place an oxygen tube into your mouth and down your windpipe. In this way, we make sure you’re getting enough oxygen throughout the procedure. Our team will continue to monitor your oxygen levels as your operation continues. We may also administer muscle relaxants to ensure the oxygen tube is undisturbed in your windpipe.

General anesthesia is almost always safe for patients at GI Specialists of Georgia. Even if you have preexisting conditions, there’s a good chance anesthesia will still be a safe option for you. However, certain people may exhibit risk factors that make going under anesthesia more complicated. Conditions such as diabetes, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, or seizures can pose risks to your surgery, as can particular lifestyle choices such as smoking. Nevertheless, even if you exhibit one of these risk factors, be sure to talk to your Atlanta, GA doctor about if anesthesia is viable for you.