Anesthesia Information for Surgery Patients

Surgery Patient FAQs​

Here you will find some general anesthesia information for surgery patients and a list of answers to frequently asked questions regarding anesthesia and your upcoming surgery/procedure. Should you have any additional questions or need clarification, you may address these with the anesthesiologist who will be present during your procedure.

If You’ve Been Advised Outpatient Surgery, Then You’re Probably…
  • Worried about pain and recovery
  • Concerned about safety and
  • Confused about which surgery center to choose

 

Steel City Anesthesia LLC is committed to health care integrity and the highest patient satisfaction. For almost two decades, we have a consistent track record of providing clinically safe outpatient anesthesia to hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers (ASC),and doctors with office-based anesthesia in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.

How Do I Prepare For Surgery?

Here are some important points to ensure your safety while preparing for anesthesia and surgery.

  • Follow the instructions regarding food and drink before your procedure: If you have been told not to eat or drink anything (even water) for a specific number of hours prior to procedure, it is with good reason to empty your stomach and minimize your risk of getting sick or nauseous.
  • Ignoring pre-operative instructions can lead to discomfort and high risk situations. For example, if you throw up while you’re awake, you are not very likely to aspirate stomach contents into your lungs; as a preventive reflex action, you will cough. When under the effect of anesthesia many of our protective reflexes are decreased or even absent. There’s a chance that the contents of your stomach can go from your food pipe down into your lungs and cause significant lung damage. This is the reason why you are advised not to eat or drink for some period before surgery.
  • Bring a list of all the medications you take: It is very important to make a list of all over-the-counter medications, prescriptions, vitamins and herbal supplements that you are taking and bring it with you on the day of your procedure. Your anesthetist needs to know if you have taken any medication that might interfere with the anesthetic, and proceed accordingly.
  • Ask your doctor about taking your heart and blood pressure medications prior to a procedure: In some instances, you can continue taking them while in others you may be advised to stop using them. Take care to follow these instructions so you don’t run the risk of severe reactions between drugs.
  • Mention all allergies: Also let them know about any allergies, especially to drugs and latex sensitivity.
  • Inform about past anesthesia problems: Tell the anesthesia provider about past problems or issues with anesthetics.
Why Anesthesia Services Are So Important?

Anesthesia promotes pain-free or painless procedures and offers enhanced patient comfort. In the event that your surgery takes longer than expected, a simple sedation might not provide effective pain relief. Sedation does not allow for easy monitoring of how much anesthesia one is getting effectively, so no one will know truly how much anesthesia is in your system. On the other hand, with MAC or Monitored Anesthesia Care, state-of-the-art medical devices will monitor and measure the amount of anesthesia that is in your system. This sophistication contributes hugely to better pain management and a higher degree of comfort for you.

In addition, the quality of anesthesia services you receive also determines how quickly you can come back home. Steel City anesthesia providers can get you to sleep in 15 seconds or less and remain by your side to monitor your comfort, breathing and blood pressure throughout the procedure. Their expertise also minimizes or eliminates side effects and speeds up your recovery.

How Does Credentialing Ensure Patient Safety?

The State Department of Health mandates certain credentials for anesthesia providers to ensure patient safety. All Steel City Anesthesia’s anesthesia providers are licensed for propofol (the drug used to induce sleep) usage as mandated by FDA package labeling. We also ensure that the surgery centers and physicians we work with have all the necessary credentials like JCAHO (Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) and AAAASF (American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities). Even office-based anesthesia needs to be administered by a licensed CRNA. Most insurance providers cover our services.