Anesthesiology
Information for Patients
Preoperative Care
Our staff doctors and nurses will take the time to understand your medical history and needs related to the planned procedure. When you come to the clinic, your medical and surgical history will be reviewed and you will be examined. Depending on your condition and the surgery, an EKG and additional lab studies may be obtained. An overview of your day, and likely anesthetic techniques will be discussed; it is important that you speak up if you have any strong opinions regarding the options discussed.
In addition to department members, we may invite consultation with other experts -- if needed -- to assure you are in the best shape possible for surgery. If you have had a number of surgeries outside of the VA, it is useful to bring a list so that we may make sure that your computer record here is up-to-date.
Intraoperative Care
Your day may start as early as 4 AM if you have to travel to the hospital on your day of surgery! Double-check your instruction sheet to see which medicines your doctors want you to take in the morning. Taking medicines with small sips of water is perfectly fine, while eating solid food less than six hours prior to surgery is dangerous and is strictly prohibited.
Your visit here will start in the preop area where we will make sure that your condition has not changed since you were seen in the clinic. Several people will ask whether you had anything to eat, what medicines you took, and check that the name and social security number on the arm band are indeed yours. A surgical team member will write their initials on the surgical site.
Your anesthesia team will greet you in the operating room preop area and place an intravenous line after numbing the skin with local anesthetic. We will start giving fluids, antibiotics, and perhaps some medicine to get you feeling more relaxed. Typically, patients with surgery on extremities are offered the option to receive a nerve block prior to going to the operating room. Often, the entire surgery can be performed under nerve block, but either way, nerve blocks can assist with recovery and minimize post operative pain.
During the surgery, your blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and EKG will be monitored continuously. If additional monitors are needed for specific types of surgery, your anesthesiologist will discuss these with you. Advanced machines and monitors and a commitment to safety have led to dramatic improvements in operative outcomes over the past 25 years!
Following the operation, you will return to either the recovery room, the ICU or the same day surgery clinic. Patients admitted to the surgical wards will go to the recovery room first. Your anesthetic and recovery room stay will be supervised by an anesthesiologist.
Postoperative Care
The quality of our care is dependent on the continuous feedback we receive from our patients' experience, and we are eager to see how you are doing in the days after your operation.
If you are admitted to the hospital following surgery, your anesthesiologist or another department member will visit you. The regional anesthesia team will also see patients with nerve block catheters. Any concerns or questions you may have should be raised during these visits.
