About Anesthesia

Though anesthesiologists frequently fulfill many roles involving critical care, preparing patients for surgery and pain management, our primary service to patients involves giving them an anesthetic for an operation.

Surgical anesthesia takes one of three routes: general anesthesia (going to sleep), regional anesthesia (blocking large nerves) or local anesthesia (numbing the area around the operation.)

For more information, see the sections on Preparing for Anesthesia and Frequently Asked Questions.