Your Crestwood Anesthesia Team
At Crestwood your anesthesia care will be provided by a team highly trained and dedicated professionals consisting of physicians and advanced practice nurses. The physicians in our department are all residency trained and board certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology. During your pre-operative interview and assessment you and your anesthesiologist will devise the most appropriate anesthetic plan for your surgery and answer any questions you might have, including those related to post-operative pain control. uring and immediately following surgery your anesthesiologist will be present to address any issues that might arise so that you will have a safe and effective anesthetic experience. In most cases, one of our anesthesiologist will visit or call you post-operatively to insure that you have recovered from your anesthetic and to respond to any concerns you may have.
Working alongside our physician anesthesiologists are certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA’s) and anesthesiologist’s assistants (AA’s). These professionals all have advanced degrees in health care and play an integral role in your anesthesia care.
Meet Your Team of Board Certified Anesthesiologists
Food and Drink guidelines before surgery
For morning surgery (7 am – 12 pm)
Nothing to eat or drink after midnight, including gum or candy. Early morning medications may be taken with a small sip of water except for oral diabetic pills. Diabetics should not take their oral diabetic pills.
For afternoon surgery (arrival after 12 pm)
A light meal such as toast or a bagel without butter or cream cheese is okay up until 6 am. After 6 am no solid food should be eaten, including gum and candy. Clear liquids are fine up until 2 hours prior to arrival time. Clear liquids include water, juice without pulp, black coffee, and tea. Milk products, including cream with coffee ARE NOT clear liquids and should not be consumed before surgery. Early morning medications can be taken except for oral diabetic pills. Diabetics should not take oral diabetic pills.
Infants and children undergoing surgery
Every effort is made to schedule younger patients early in the day. If your infant is breast feeding it is okay to breast feed up until 4 hours prior to your arrival.
Types of anesthesia
There are several different types of anesthesia. The type of anesthesia you receive will depend on a number of factors, including the surgery you are having and any medical conditions you may have.
General anesthesia – The patient is rendered completely unconscious and has no awareness or other sensations. In most cases and endotracheal tube or other breathing device is inserted into the patient’s airway after the patient is asleep.
Regional anesthesia – This requires your anesthesiologist to inject numbing medicine around a cluster of nerves to numb the area of your body requiring surgery. In many cases, this approach is used to provide post-operative pain relief and is frequently used in conjunction with general anesthesia or sedation during the actual procedure.
Conscious sedation – This involves giving medications through your IV that result in a light sleep. The patient continues to breath on their own without the need of an airway device, but rarely reports pain or memory of the procedure.
What to expect after surgery
After surgery you will be taken to our post anesthesia care unit, where we have nurses specifically trained to care for patients recovering from anesthesia and surgery. Your care will continue to be directed by your anesthesiologist during your recovery and he or she will be responsible for providing adequate pain control and that your vital signs and level of consciousness recover from anesthesia.
Post-Operative Pain Management
Billing information
The physicians in our anesthesia department are not employees of Crestwood, but are an independent group (Alabama Anesthesia of Huntsville, LLC). Charges for services rendered will be billed separately from the hospital.