Patient guide to anesthesia
Welcome to the Vancouver online patient guide to anesthesia. We want to ensure you feel supported every step of the way.
How to use this patient guide
This guide is for patients who will be undergoing anesthesia and for their families and caregivers. It is designed to help you understand how to prepare for anesthesia, what to expect on your day of surgery, as well as the important role you play in your recovery. You may also receive additional information on what to expect for your specific procedure or surgery from your health-care team.
- This website resource is intended to be generic and applies to most people undergoing anesthesia. On the day of surgery, the Anesthesiologist will finalize your care plan with you and explain the details that are relevant to you specifically.
- Any quoted information on this website is for the general population. Your personal risk may differ somewhat from the general population, depending on your medical history and what type of surgery you are having. All patients will have the chance to discuss their personal risks and benefits related to having an anesthetic and surgery with their care providers prior to their procedure.
What are anesthetics?
Anesthetics block signals in the nervous system and stop pain messages travelling from the body to the brain. There are three types of anesthesia:
- local and regional anesthesia, which both numb a specific part of the body.
- sedation is a spectrum of anesthesia. On one of the spectrum you may be lightly sedated (aware of the procedure but kept comfortable) and on the other end of the spectrum you could be heavily sedated (unaware of the procedure and safely monitored).
- general anesthesia, which makes you unconscious (completely asleep).
Sometimes patients will get more than one type of anesthesia. The type of anesthetic used will depend on what surgery of procedure is happening as well your age and what medical conditions you have. Your anesthetist will be able to explain and discuss the options with you before surgery.
Preparing for your surgery is one of the most important parts to improving your outcome after surgery.
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Preparing for anesthesia before surgery
This website resource describes how to prepare for anesthesia before surgery if…
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Managing anemia before surgery
Anemia occurs when your red blood cell count (hemoglobin) is low. People with a…
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Reducing or quitting smoking or vaping before surgery
Research shows that people who stop smoking or vaping at least one month before…
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Blood sugar control before surgery
It is important to manage blood sugars before surgery.
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Preparing for surgery if you are frail
Some medical conditions or being elderly can cause you to be frail. It is impor…
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Preparing for surgery if you have chronic pain
If your pain lasts three months or longer and affects your quality of life, you…
On the day of your surgery you may be receiving one type of anesthetic or a combination depending on what your Anesthesiologist decides is the best for you.
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General anesthesia
This website resource describes what you can generally expect if you are underg…
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Epidural anesthesia
This website resource describes what you can generally expect during epidural a…
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Spinal anesthesia
This website resource describes what you can generally expect during spinal ane…
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Nerve blocks
This website resource describes what you can generally expect during nerve bloc…
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Monitored anesthetic care
This website resource describes what you can generally expect during monitored …