Sedation
Today, physicians have many ways to make sure their patıents are as comfortable as possible during surgery or procedures for diagnosing medical conditions. One common type of pain control is called sedation, which relaxes you and sometimes makes you fall asleep. Sedation, also known as monitored anesthesia care, conscious sedation, or twilight sedation, typically is used for minor surgeries or for shorter, less complex procedures, when an injection of local anesthetic isn’t sufficient but deeper general anesthesia isn’t necessary.
Depending on the procedure, the level of sedation may range from minimal (you’ll feel drowsy but able to talk) to deep (you probably won’t remember the procedure).
What are the levels of sedation?
The level of sedation a patient experiences depends on several factors, including the type of procedure you’re having and how your body responds to anesthesia. Your age, medical condition, and health habits may also affect the type of anesthesia you’ll receive. Regardless of the level of sedation, it’s important that an anesthesiologist be involved in your anesthesia care. An anesthesiologist is a medical doctor who specializes in anesthesia, paın management, and critical care medicine.
That can happen if you are sedated to a point where you are confused or fall asleep and snore.
For some procedures, you may receive medication that makes you sleepy and keeps you from feeling pain. There are different levels of sedation — some patients are drowsy, but they are awake and can talk; others fall asleep and don’t remember the procedure.
The main levels of sedation are:
Minimal – Minimal sedation will help you relax, but you will likely be awake. You’ll understand questions your doctor is asking and be able to answer as well as follow directions. This level of sedation is typically used when your doctor needs you to be involved in the procedure.
Moderate – You will feel drowsy and may even fall asleep during the procedure. You may or may not remember some of the procedure.
Deep – You won’t actually be unconscious, but you’ll sleep through the procedure and probably will have little or no memory of it.
How does general anesthesia work?
Under general anesthesia, you will be unconscious and unaware of what is happening.
General anesthesia keeps you unconscious during the entire procedure. General anesthesia causes you to lose consciousness.
General anesthesia is medicine that is administered by an anesthesiologist, a medical doctor, through a mask or an IV placed in the vein. While the anesthesia is working, you will be unconscious, and many of your body’s functions will slow down or need help to work effectively.
During surgery, the anesthesiologist will monitor your vital signs to make sure they are normal and steady while you remain unconscious and free of paın.
Once your surgery is complete, your anesthesiologist will reverse the medication and be with you as you return to consciousness and wake up, continually monitoring your breathing, circulation, and oxygen levels.
It may take a day or two for the anesthesia medication to completely leave your system, so you could be sleepy, and your reflexes and judgment can be affected by Postoperative delirium – Confusion when regaining consciousness after surgery.