Do patients have to be awake during spinal or local anesthesia? No. Intravenous drugs are given to sedate the patient. Does anesthesia ever wear off before the operation is completed? No. A competent anesthetist always makes sure that the patient stays fully anesthetized to pain throughout the entire operation. How long after the operation does the anesthesia lasts? With general anesthesia, the patient usually awakens anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours after the procedure is finished. Local, regional, and spinal anesthesia wear off within 1 to 3 hours after operation. What is done to relieve pain after the anesthesia wears off? Pain killers are given to eliminate much of the pain. What is the special training of an anesthetist? After the usual internship, the anesthetist in training must spend 3 years in a hospital pursuing a regular course of study in anesthesia a leading to MD. Have advances in anesthesia increased the safety of surgery? Yes. All physicians and surgeons will agree that the tremendous decrease in operative mortality in the past ten years is almost directly attributable to two great modern advances The antibiotic drugs. Improved anesthetic techniques. | 1 | 2 | 3 | MAIN PAGE