Anesthesia and what will happen at the Surgery Center or Hospital

Going to the operating room is not a normal experience for most of us. Dr. Mosser and all of the professional staff caring for you recognize the natural anxiety with which most patients approach this step in the process of achieving their goals. We believe a description of the surgery experience will be helpful.

Your surgery will be performed in a state of the art operating suite. Specialists using modern equipment and techniques will attend to you. The team includes a board-certified anesthesiologist, a trained operating room technician and a registered nurse in charge of the operating room.

When you arrive at the hospital or surgery center, you will be asked to change into a gown and robe. Dr. Mosser and the anesthesiologist will meet with you before you enter the operating suite. This is the time for final surgical planning; it is also when we will do basic preparation or draw on your skin as needed. There will be time for last minute questions.

Once you enter the operating room, the staff will do everything they can to make you feel secure. At the same time, to ensure your safety, our staff will connect you to monitoring devices. Medicines that will make you drowsy will flow through the tubing into a vein in your arm.

When your surgery has been completed and your dressings are in place, you will be moved to the recovery room. You will be connected to monitoring equipment constantly. During this period, a fully trained recovery room nurse will take care of you and remain with you at all times. Your stay in the recovery room will last from 1 to 4 hours, depending on how soon you are ready to leave. Most patients are fully awake within 30-60 minutes after surgery but may not remember much about their stay in the recovery room.