Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists is a professional group of anesthesiologists and certified registered nurses anesthetists (CRNAs) who practice at Saint Thomas Hospital.

Anesthesia causes the loss of feeling and sensation of pain. For this process, a wide variety of drugs and procedures are available and used to make surgery more safe and more comfortable.

Types of Anesthesia
The two basic types of anesthesia are general and regional.

General Anesthesia includes a loss of consciousness, leaving no sensation of pain over the entire body. This is accomplished by injecting anesthetic drugs intravenously and/or by inhaling anesthetic gases.

Regional Anesthesia is a loss of sensation in one are or region of the body. There are several types of regional anesthesia: local, spinal, epidural, caudal, and peripheral nerve blocks.

Sedation may be given during regional anesthesia to make the patient more comfortable during surgery.

The Pre-Operative Visit
Before surgery, an anesthesiologist will visit with you to review your medical history, laboratory studies, and evaluate your physical condition. At this time, he or she will recommend and anesthetic plan, discuss the plan with you, and answer any questions you may have. Usually the anesthesiologist will order medication for you to take prior to coming to the operating room. The medication will have a relaxing, drowsy effect.

The Operating Room
One of the doctors and one of the nurse anesthetists in our group who work together as a team will give your anesthesia. This team will be completely familiar with your medical history and physical condition. They will be responsible for monitoring and maintaining your blood pressure, heart rate and rhythm, respiration, temperature and when necessary, will use other complex types of monitoring.

When your surgery is completed, specially trained nurses will monitor you in the recovery room or intensive care unit. The anesthesiologist also will be available to treat any problems should they occur.