Hello, my name is Beth. I'm an anesthesia provider here at The Everett clinic. I'm here to provide you with a brief overview of the types of anesthesia that you may receive for your procedure. You will have an opportunity to speak in person with your anesthesia provider on the day of surgery to ask questions or discuss concerns that you may have.

After you meet with your anesthesia provider, a surgical nurse will escort you to the operating room. Monitors to measure your heart rate, oxygen level and blood pressure will be applied and an oxygen mask will be placed on your mouth and nose before going to sleep. As you breathe the oxygen, medicine will be injected into your IV that will cause you to fall asleep for your surgery. Some people notice the medicine causes a warm or cold sensation and even stinging near the IV which lasts for several seconds. During surgery, you'll often receive medications for pain control, antibiotics and medicine to prevent nausea which is sometimes seen following general anesthesia. As your surgery is concluding, the anesthesia provider will begin to wake you up and then transport you to the recovery area. Most often people leave for home within one to two hours of surgery.

Before leaving, you'll be given written instructions for recovery at home and released to the care of your driver. If your anesthesia provider and surgeon agree you have monitored anesthesia care also commonly known as sedation. then you'll receive oxygen via mask or nasal prongs and medications through your IV to keep you fully relaxed or asleep depending on the types of surgery, your preferences and of course your safety. Many people prefer to be totally awake or mostly asleep and you'll have the opportunity to discuss these concerns with your anesthesia provider before going to the operating room. The Everett clinic anesthesia providers make every effort to respect your preference while maximizing your safety which is our absolute number one priority.