A team consisting of a board certified anesthesiologist and certified nurse anesthetist or anesthesia resident will care for you. This team approach provides maximum patient safety.

There are four main categories of anesthesia; general, regional, monitored anesthesia care and local anesthesia. Please refer to the Anesthesia section for a description of these categories. Regardless of the category of anesthesia that you may receive, special anesthetic agents and techniques are used to provide a safe and speedy recovery. If there are reasonable choices available to you for your surgery, and often there are, you will discuss them with your anesthesiologist before the surgery.

Yes, in certain situations. Some operations can be performed using a choice of different anesthetic types. Your anesthesiologist will discuss available options with you after reviewing your medical history. Your preference will be discussed so that the most appropriate anesthetic plan is made.

You and your anesthesiologist will develop an anesthetic care plan. This plan will include preoperative sedation and other medications if necessary.

All operations and all anesthetics have risks and they are dependent upon many factors including the type of surgery and the medical condition of the patient. Most patients operated on in surgery centers are of the healthier group of patients, and in these circumstances serious complications, while they can occur, are fortunately very rare.

To repeat – the risk of a major complication in an otherwise healthy patient is extremely low. Your anesthesiologist will assess you preoperatively and every precaution will be taken to minimize your risk. Our equipment is the most advanced and up to date. There will be very little in the acute period that we cannot handle as well as the hospital. However, we will routinely see minor problems such as nausea and vomiting, sore throat, dizziness, tiredness, headache, muscle aches, and pain, most of which are easily treated.

Yes, you will receive a separate bill for your anesthesiologist’s professional services, as you will from your other physicians. Middletown Anesthesia participates in most health plans.

You refrain from eating and/or drinking prior to surgery in order to prevent the risks of aspirating gastric contents during your surgery. This complication is very serious and you need to strictly abide by our recommendations. This has nothing to do with nausea and vomiting after your surgery as some think.

We have very clear policies as to specific times before surgery when you must refrain from eating and/or drinking. These are all based on safety standards. Please note that the standards have been revised recently. We believe that the fasting time should be as short as possible before your surgery. You will not improve your safety by not eating or drinking longer than necessary; in fact, at times you may complicate things a bit.

Any patient receiving anesthesia should not drive until the next day. A patient receiving sedation for a procedure needs a ride home. The few patients who have procedures performed under local anesthesia alone could possibly drive home.

We request that all patients have a ride home and be received by a responsible adult when they arrive home. Patients will not be allowed to drive, walk or take public transportation home after sedation or anesthesia. Please make the appropriate arrangements.