{"id":17033,"date":"2025-03-27T09:21:35","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T15:21:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=17033"},"modified":"2025-09-08T16:31:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T22:31:35","slug":"anesthesia-101-learning-the-basics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/anesthesia-101-learning-the-basics\/","title":{"rendered":"The basics of anesthesia: What you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"Surgeon
Photo: iStock.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re heading in for surgery, the anesthesia you\u2019ll be getting might not be top of mind. But it\u2019s a critical part of many medical procedures<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Below, Dr. Sarah Gebauer<\/a>, an anesthesiologist at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center<\/a>, outlines the basics of anesthesia and what you need to know.<\/p>\n

Different types of anesthesia<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cAnesthesia includes various options from making people less anxious but still completely awake, to making people insensitive to pain so they can tolerate procedures or surgeries,\u201d Gebauer said.<\/p>\n

In general anesthesia, a patient is unconscious and has no awareness or sensation. Typically, a patient is put under general anesthesia with medication through an IV and is kept asleep by breathing anesthetic gases.<\/p>\n

In regional anesthesia, only part of the body is numbed with a local anesthetic drug. Spinal anesthesia, in which medicine is injected into the fluid of the spinal cord, may be used for C-sections, hip surgeries and any other surgery below the waist. Epidural anesthesia, in which medicine is injected just outside the spinal cord\u2019s surrounding fluid, may be used for labor or to provide pain relief after larger surgeries. Nerve blocks, in which a group of nerves that cause pain to a certain organ or area are numbed, can be used to treat or determine sources of pain.<\/p>\n

\"A
Dr. Sarah Gebauer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In local anesthesia, a very small part of the body, such as a finger, is numbed.<\/p>\n

In monitored anesthesia care, patients are sedated to varying degrees. That might mean a patient feels a little groggy, or it might mean a patient is fully asleep. Depending on the procedure, multiple types of anesthesia may be used.<\/p>\n

The type of anesthesia depends on the procedure<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Smaller, faster procedures may require less anesthetic, while longer, more uncomfortable procedures require more. Patient preference may come into play. For arthroscopic knee surgery, some patients have a spinal anesthetic so they can watch the surgery and even talk with the surgeon.<\/p>\n

An anesthesia provider is always present<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Worried that you\u2019ll be left alone in surgery? You don\u2019t have to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always like to reassure people that we stay with them the whole time,\u201d Gebauer said. \u201cThere\u2019s an anesthesia provider sitting there and monitoring your vital signs every single second.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow pre-surgery eating and drinking guidelines<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Eating or drinking too close to a surgery can result in aspiration, in which food from your stomach enters the trachea and lungs. During anesthesia, natural reflexes that keep food out of the trachea are decreased or eliminated.<\/p>\n

\u201cAspiration can be very dangerous<\/a>,\u201d Gebauer said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want your surgery to be delayed, and we want to keep you safe, so follow the recommendations that your medical provider makes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talk with your anesthesiologist about drugs you’re already using<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Be sure to tell your anesthesiologist about any drugs you use, including marijuana, as they can affect how much anesthetic should be given and is safe. And tell the doctor if you\u2019ve had previous experiences with anesthesia.

Marijuana use affects anesthesia doses<\/a>. If you use marijuana, tell your doctor. <\/div>\n

\u201cLet us know if you\u2019ve had nausea or vomiting after anesthesia,\u201d Gebauer said. \u201cThere are several techniques we can use to decrease that risk. Even if it was mild, we want to know about it, as we take it seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible to have a vague memory of the procedure<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Though it\u2019s extremely unlikely that a patient would wake up during general anesthesia, a patient under monitored anesthesia care may remember part of the procedure. \u201cSome will remember hearing voices or seeing lights,\u201d Gebauer said.<\/p>\n

And don\u2019t worry about saying anything you\u2019ll later regret. \u201cPeople are always worried about saying something embarrassing before they go to sleep, but they don\u2019t,\u201d Gebauer said.<\/p>\n

This story first appeared in the Steamboat Pilot & Today.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  If you\u2019re heading in for surgery, the anesthesia you\u2019ll be getting might not be top of mind. But it\u2019s a critical part of many medical procedures. Below, Dr. Sarah Gebauer, an anesthesiologist at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center, outlines the basics of anesthesia and what you need to know. Different types of anesthesia \u201cAnesthesia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2163,"featured_media":17034,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[702,2518],"class_list":["post-17033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-living","tag-surgical-care","tag-uchealth-yampa-valley-medical-center"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBasics of anesthesia: What you need to know - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Going in for surgery can be scary. 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