Anesthesiologist Questions Hand Surgery

What kind of anesthesia is used for hand surgery?

I need to have surgery on my right hand. What kind of anesthesia is typically used for hand surgery?

8 Answers

A lot of it depends on what your surgeon may want and what kind of surgery you are having done. For example, a carpal tunnel release can be done with straight local, local with sedation, an IV regional block, or. General anesthetic. However, regardless of what surgery you are having done, many hand surgeons prefer general anesthesia. If you are having a surgery where postoperative pain is expected to be considerable, some surgeons will request a nerve block for postoperative pain control which last 16 to 24 hours typically. It is best to discuss this with your surgeon.
Local anesthesia. Regional block most common.
It depends on your surgeon and anesthesiologist. Hopefully you will meet him/her to decide on the matter and inform yourself.
Hand surgery could be done under regional anesthesia. Regional blocks or intravenous block also can be done under general anesthesia. Depends upon procedure and surgeon.
Most people use general anesthesia. Local anesthetic can also be used
It depends on what kind of a lesion. Most of the time, general anesthesia especially, if the patient is young.
There is no typical anesthesia for hand surgery. It depends on the actual procedure, duration and the preferences of the physicians involved. Anything from regional anesthesia to general anesthesia to local and sedation may be used.
It depends on what type of surgery you are having. Often, a local nerve block(s) or regional nerve block may provide anesthesia to the area being operated on and only minor sedation needs to be used while you are in the OR. A longer or more extensive surgery may require general anesthesia. Please ask your surgeon what the plan is and if you could speak with your anesthesiologist prior to your procedure so that all of your questions can be answered.