Anesthesia may refer to local anesthesia, general anesthesia, sedation, or regional anesthesia.
Learn more about the different types of anesthesia below.

For questions about anesthesia, you can reach an on-call ZAP anesthetist at:  +1 (312) 965-9452

Local anesthesia is numbing medication we inject directly into the area of the body where surgery will be performed, essentially "freezing" the area so you do not feel pain.

The agents involved may be through gas inhalation or intravenous medications or a combination of both. When under general anesthesia, patients are unaware of stimulation and their surroundings and are unable to respond. Patients have a complete loss of consciousness and an airway inserted to help patients breathe. .Patients are monitored closely throughout the surgery to ensure proper and safe administration of the anesthetic and all monitoring and protocols are in place.

There are three levels of sedation – minimal, moderate and deep.
- Minimal sedation helps you relax but you will likely be awake. You will be able to respond easily to verbal and physical stimulation. Minimal sedation is often achieved using oral medication or laughing gas.
- Moderate sedation is when you feel even more drowsy and you may even fall asleep during the procedure. You may or may not remember much of the procedure. This is typically achieved using intravenous medications (either one or two drugs).
- Deep sedation is like twilight sedation where you feel very dreamy and will fall asleep. You are not totally unconscious, but you do not respond to verbal and physical stimulation as readily as moderate sedation. You will sleep through the procedure and you will have little memory of the procedure.

Regional Anesthesia is an injection of numbing medication near a specific nerve to decrease pain in a part of your body during and after surgery for a period of time. We use ultrasound for precise injection of the medication to ensure the patient's comfort.