Sedation Anaesthesia

For your surgical procedure you will be attended by a Specialist Anaesthetist who will administer agents to make you relaxed and sleepy. A needle will be inserted into a vein in your arm or hand once you are in the theatre. Oxygen will be given via a mask and monitors attached to you. Drugs which relax and sedate you will be given intermittently. You will be drowsy throughout the procedure and you may or may not remember any detail of this time. This will be dependent on the drugs and technique chosen by your Anaesthetist. This is not a general anaesthetic.

On the day of the procedure you should have nothing to eat for six hours prior to your admission.

You may drink water up to two hours prior to your admission.

Precautions

It is important for you to take the following precautions:

• You must be accompanied home by a responsible adult, you must not drive yourself home and you must travel home by car or taxi, NOT by bus or train.
• Do not wear high-heeled shoes or thongs.
• Do not drink alcohol or operate any sort of machinery (including cars) until the following day.
• You must stay indoors with another person in the house until the following day.
• Continue current medications (this includes the contraceptive pill).
• Females – if there is any possibility of pregnancy, surgery must be deferred for the first three months.
• If you are taking Asprin or Disprin, it is best to change to Panadol the week before and the week after the proceedure.
• You will feel quite dry in the mouth during and after the procedure; this will stop after a couple of hours.
• You may experience mild nausea and headache.