Frequently Asked Questions

Anesthesia providers may use many different drugs or a combination of them to render someone unconscious. There are two types that are commonly used for surgeries:

Sedation is usually when a person is given anti-anxiety medications with/without something which causes sleep. Sedation is what is used for procedures such as a colonoscopy where you are “asleep”and have no memory of the event, may hear the staff in the OR talking, may be able to respond to a question or painful stimuli. This is NOT the type of anesthesia that prevents you from feeling a painful stimulus.

General anesthesia is typically used for procedures such as liposuction, gynecomastia removal, breast augmentation, tummy tuck or breast lifts. This allows you to ”feel” nothing and allows the surgeon to accomplish the best outcome for your procedure. General anesthesia may be achieved through intravenous, inhalation or a combination of the two. You may be breathing spontaneously (on your own) with a nasal oxygen cannula, face mask, airway in your mouth/throat (especially if you snore).

If you are breathing on your own, become nauseous, you may regurgitate and your stomach acid may come up in your throat and go down the “wrong” pipe.

That is the reason that we prefer patients to have NOTHING to eat or drink for at least 8 HOURS prior to surgery, including chewing gum (increases acid volume in your stomach). Any kind of gastric volume in the stomach can cause nausea because surgery is a trauma to your body, digestion stops, your body is busy taking care of the changes you are undergoing. If you have undigested food in your stomach, the body will likely want to get rid of it because it’s not going through the system normally (your GI tract is on strike).

Your surgeon and your anesthesia provider will develop an anesthetic care plan. This plan may include preoperative sedation and other medications if necessary.

You may feel nausea, foggy, fatigue. Your throat may be a little dry or sore due to the high flow of oxygen during your procedure. Most of these side effects from the anesthesia are should go away by the next day.

It’s important to rest, stay hydrated and maintain good nutrition after surgery so your body can recover. Proper rest may help decrease the chance of new or continued bleeding.

Even if you do not have an appetite, we recommend having protein shakes or protein bars in small amounts.

If you have a sore throat, hot saline gargles or throat lozenges may help.

If you experience any dizziness when you change positions, you may be dehydrated. Drink plenty of fluids such as electrolytes, fruit juices or protein shakes.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to your doctor or nurse provider if you have any questions or concerns!