Anesthesia for Parathyroid Surgery

Anesthesia for Parathyroid Surgery

Surgery typically lasts for about 20 minutes and is frequently performed on an ambulatory (outpatient) basis. Patients are given the choice of general anesthesia (going completely to sleep) or light sedation. With light sedation we perform a local anesthetic nerve block that lasts after the surgery. Pain is typically mild and treated with oral pain medication. There is sometimes nausea which is treated with an anti-nausea medication. Although many patient go home the same day as surgery, your safety and comfort are the highest concern to us. Therefore we do not rush any patients to go home and prefer to observe overnight if there is ever a question of medical safety. Patients with concurrent medical problems stay overnight for observation.