Preoperative Management and Nursing Care Using The Nursing Process

10. Classification of anesthesia

General anesthesia: Patient is unconscious and feels nothing. Patient receives medicine by breathing it or through an IV.

Local anesthesia: Patient is wide awake during surgery. Medicine is injected to numb a small area.
Local anesthesia is an aesthetic agent given to temporarily stop the sense of pain in a particular area of the body.

Regional anesthesia: Patient is awake, and parts of the body are asleep. Medicine is injected.
Regional anesthesia is used to numb only the portion of the body that will undergo the surgery

General anesthesia
Provides loss of consciousness and loss of sensation.

Regional anesthesia
Involves the injection of a local anesthetic to provide numbness, loss of pain or loss of sensation to a large region of the body. Regional anesthetic techniques include spinal blocks, epidural blocks and arm and leg blocks. Medications can be given that will make the patient comfortable.