Download Types of Anesthesia

Types of anesthesia
The three types of anesthesia are general, regional and local. All three involve the
administration of medications to produce a change in sensation and they are frequently used in
combination. Confusion sometimes arises, because the term “local anesthesia” is used to refer
to what is properly called “regional anesthesia”, so that an operation “under local” may in fact be
an operation using regional anesthesia.
Factors that influence the choice of anesthesia include:
The procedure to be performed. Some procedures can only be performed under general
anesthesia. For example, a patient undergoing removal of the gallbladder, whether by means of
a laparoscopic or key-hole technique or through a standard incision, needs a general
anesthesia. For other procedures it is reasonable to consider whether or not the operation
should be carried out under local, regional or general anesthesia, or if a combination of
techniques should be used, such as combined regional and general anesthesia. For example, a
patient undergoing an examination of the knee using a special instrument called an arthroscope
could be offered a choice of local, regional, or general anesthesia. A patient undergoing an
open-heart operation might be offered a combination of general anesthesia and regional
anesthesia.
The experience, expertise and preference of the anesthesiologist can vary with different
techniques.
Your own preference - whether or not you would prefer to be unconscious or wish to remain as
conscious and in control as possible. Most patients prefer to be unconscious for major surgical
procedures. For some procedures it is increasingly common for patients not to have a general
anesthesia—for example, C-section (Cesarean section).
Age - It is common for children to have a general anesthesia for procedures that might be done
without any form of anesthesia in an adult, for example, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
scanning. This is because children may not understand the explanations or be able to lie still.
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Types of anesthesia
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