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Anesthesia

TYPES OF ANESTHESIA

Local Anesthesia: 

  • You remain awake, but the part of your body that will be operated upon is made numb to pain. This loss of pain sensation is produced by directly injecting the area to be treated with numbing medication.

Monitored Anesthesia Care (MAC):

  • You will be given pain medication and/or a sedative, in conjunction with a local anesthetic, to keep you comfortable during the procedure.
  • Patients often recover quickly from this type of anesthesia.

Regional Anesthesia:

  • You may remain awake or undergo IV sedation, but the entire area of your body affected by the surgery is made free of pain.
  • Regional anesthetics such as spinal, epidural or caudal are most commonly used in obstetrics and surgical procedures of the lower abdomen, pelvis and lower extremities.
  • Nerve Blocks are a type of regional anesthesia most commonly used to numb a single extremity such as one arm or one leg.You may also receive sedatives to ease your anxiety. These sedatives do not cause unconsciousness, but may leave you with little or no memory of the procedure.

General Anesthetic: 

  • You are asleep and your whole body is made free of pain.
  • It is given by intravenous injection of medications and inhalation of anesthetic gases.

What type of anesthesia will I have?

  • You may be given either local, MAC, regional, general anesthesia or a combination of one or more types of anesthesia.
  • Your surgeon and your anesthesiologist will discuss with you the type of anesthesia, which will meet your needs during your surgery.
  • Anesthesia can cause you to lose feeling or sensation during the operation with or without loss of consciousness.

What are common side effects?

  • Mild nausea or vomiting for a day or two after surgery is not uncommon. It is more likely to occur if you have a history of nausea and vomiting with past surgeries, if you are susceptible to motion sickness or if you had any type of laparoscopic procedure.
  • Depending on the type of anesthesia you receive, you may experience a sore throat, headache, drowsiness, muscle ache and/or fatigue for a few days after your procedure.

Who will administer my anesthesia?

  • A board certified anesthesiologist will administer anesthesia during your procedure.
  • You will have an opportunity to speak with an anesthesiologist the morning of your surgery.

INFORMATION BEFORE/AFTER SURGERY

Before your Procedure

  • To get the best results, work with your doctors and nurses to choose the method that will work best for you. We want to make your surgery as pain free as we can. But you are the key to getting the best pain relief because pain is personal. The amount or type of pain you feel may not be the same as others feel, even those who have had the same operation.
  • Being prepared helps put you in control.
  • Ask the doctor:
    • Will there be much pain after surgery?
    • Where will it occur?
    • How long is it likely to last
  • Be sure to:
    • Talk about pain control methods that have worked well or not so well for you before.
    • Talk about any concerns you may have about pain medicine
    • Ask about side effects that may occur with treatment
  • You will meet your anesthesiologist in the pre-operative area just prior to your procedure to discuss any concerns about how your discomfort will be managed.
  • Your anesthesiologist and operating room nurse are responsible for keeping you comfortable during your procedure.

After Your Procedure

  • Your Post Anesthesia Care Unit/Recovery Room (PACU) nurse and an anesthesiologist will manage your discomfort after surgery.
  • The amount of discomfort you have is usually related to the type of surgery you’ve had.
  • Regional anesthesia can cause you to lose feeling or sensation during the operation with or without loss of consciousness. Sensation will return in the recovery room.
  • In the PACU you will be given pain medication as needed.
  • You can expect to have some discomfort, but it should be tolerable.
  • Often you will be given a dose of the pain medication that you will be taking when you are discharged to home.


BILLING
About Your Anesthesia Bill

The anesthesia group at Presidio Surgery Center is the Northern California Anesthesia Physicians (NCAP). The anesthesiologists are a private practice physician group and are NOT employees of the surgery center or your surgeon.

NCAP participates in most health insurance plans. You may verify whether NCAP participates in your plan by either calling your insurance company directly, or by contacting NCAP’s billing management at 858-244-1058. Please note that participation in a plan is not a guarantee of payment or coverage from your insurance company.  After your procedure, NCAP will bill your insurance directly.  Terms of coverage vary among plans; please consult your policy for details. For procedures covered by insurance, the health plan generally pays a portion of the anesthesia charges and the subscriber pays the balance, provided the plan’s deductible amount has been met. For plans in which NCAP is an “in-network” provider, charges are discounted according to the terms of the contract.  You may be liable for payment of a deductible, co-pay, or non-covered services.

Some of the insurance plans/networks that NCAP physicians participate with are:

  • Aetna
  • Anthem Blue Cross of CA Prudent Buyer
  • Blue Shield of California
  • Brown and Toland Medical Group
  • Cigna/Great West
  • Coventry/CCN/First Health
  • Fortified Provider Network PPO
  • Healthnet  PPO
  • Humana/Choice Care
  • Hill Physicians Medical Group
  • Health Plan of San Mateo
  • Interplan PPO
  • Mills Peninsula Medical Group
  • Multiplan PPO
  • National Preferred Provider Network
  • Pacificare/United HealthCare PPO
  • Pacific Foundation for Medical Care PPO/EPO
  • Palo Alto Medical Foundation
  • Physicians Medical Group of Santa Cruz
  • Sutter Physician Alliance
  • Sutter Select
  • USA Managed Care Organization

Government Payers:  Tricare, Medicare, Medi-Cal, Healthy Families Program and Workers Compensation

If you have any questions or medical concerns about your medical care at the facility, you can call our medical director at (415) 346-1218.

For questions regarding your anesthesia benefits please call:
Linda Hitt
858-244-1058
linda.hitt@abeomed.com