Anesthesia Options

All outpatient surgery is performed under appropriate anesthesia to maximize patient comfort. Dr. Shimane has the training, license and experience to provide various types of anesthesia to allow patients to select the best alternative. These services are provided in an environment of optimum safety, utilizing modern monitoring equipment and staff experienced in anesthesia techniques. We utilize the newest monitoring methods such as capnography, pulse oximetry, EKG, automated blood pressure.

We highly recommend General Anesthesia for surgery, especially for removal of wisdom teeth. We have found that the vast majority of our patients have the most pleasant experience with it and that surgery is much more efficient since there is a decrease in the movement of the tongue. With improved efficiency during surgery, there is usually less swelling and post operative discomfort. We do not use any paralytic agents as part of our normal anesthesia care, so you would always be able to move your body as you wish but most people do not move because they are so comfortable with the level of anesthesia.

The two other options of 1)local anesthesia alone or 2) nitrous oxide with local will have you very numb and comfortable, but you will be aware of the many sounds and vibrations of surgery. If you know you have a problem with a very sensitive “Gag-reflex”(i.e. cannot tolerate objects such as gauze in the back of the mouth), then General anesthesia would be the most comfortable and efficient choice of anesthesia.

We may also customize the level of general anesthesia to your specific needs. Some patients want to be more asleep and while other patients prefer to have a much lighter “twilight sleep” type of anesthesia similar to a colonoscopy procedure. We usually provide the general anesthesia with surgery on a separate day from the day of consultation because those patients must meet the two criteria of 1) an empty stomach for at least six hour before the surgery, and 2) someone to bring them to the office and drive them home.

The two options of local anesthesia and nitrous oxide with local do not have to meet the above two criteria.

During the consultation appointment, Dr. Shimane will assist you in your choice of anesthesia with the goal of providing you the most comfortable and pleasant experience possible.