“Are there different kinds of anesthesia?”

Yes, there are few different kinds, depending upon the kind of surgery, the part of the body under surgery as well as the choice of surgeon as well as anesthesiologist. It ranges from local anesthesia with sedation to general anesthesia, or spinal/epidural or various kinds of regional nerve blocks.

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While this may not be appropriate to your type of surgery, there are a few types of anesthesia divided into groups call on the first, General Anastasia means you go asleep for the surgery. This may be maintained with a gas also known as an inhalational agent, or IV medication. Sedation is the second Friday and may be combined with the third, which would be a regional anesthesia or nerve blocks depending on the type of procedure you have.

From Christopher Creighton

"Anesthesia" is a general term. Local anesthesia refers to injection of lidocaine or bupivicaine (local anesthetics) to numb an area of tissue. This can be done for certain small procedures such as removal of a foreign body or carpal tunnel repair. Regional anesthesia refers to the application of local anesthetics around a nerve bundle to cause numbness to a larger area of tissue. An example would be a block done around the brachial plexus to numb the shoulder for shoulder surgery. Or a femoral nerve block to allow analgesia after knee surgery. There are many types of regional anesthesia depending on the surgery being performed. The purpose is usually to provide post-operative pain control but can sometimes be used to accomplish the surgery. Neuraxial anesthesia refers to the application of a spinal or epidural block. This entails placing a small amount of a numbing agent (bupivicaine, ropivicaine, etc.) in the back, within proximity of the nerves that exit the spinal cord. Done correctly by an experienced provider, it is very safe. This can be done for labor analgesia or for any surgical procedures done on the hip or lower extremities. General anesthesia refers to IV induction of an agent that renders the patient unconscious. While in this state, the patient's vital signs are closely monitored. Briefly, the term "anesthesia" has several different applications.