The anesthetist will then begin your anesthetic, and will remain with you throughout the whole operation to make sure you are asleep and that the function of your heart and lungs is satisfactory. Once the anesthetic has been injected into the tube in your hand or arm, you will fall asleep within seconds. The drug which makes you go to sleep may sting a little as it enters the vein from the cannula, but this feeling does not last long.
Several different types of drugs will be given to you during your operation:
1 induction agents to bring on sleep;
2 maintenance agents to keep you asleep;
3 analgesics to stop you feeling pain after the operation;
4 anti-emetics to help stop you feeling sick after the operation.
If local anesthetic is injected into the wound during surgery, you will have little or no pain for a few hours after you wake up.
After your operation
When your operation is over, the anesthetist will stop giving you the drugs that were keeping you asleep and you will probably be taken to a recovery room or step-down ward.
The recovery room
The nurses in the recovery room are specially trained to care for patients coming round from anesthetics after an operation. You will stay in this room, still watched over by monitoring equipment, until you are fully awake and ready to be returned to your own ward.
The step-down ward
If you are going home on the same day as your operation, you may be taken to a step-down ward. The nurses on this ward will make sure that you are fit to go home and that your journey will be safe and pain free. They will also want to be sure that you have a responsible adult to care for you once you are at home, and should give you advice about how to manage your recovery over the next few days.
Back on the ward
If you are not going home the same day, you will be taken back to your own ward, where the anesthetist may visit you before you leave. This visit is to ensure that you are having adequate pain relief and have no ill-effects from your operation. Do tell the anesthetist if you have any concerns or questions.
Side-effects of the anesthetic
There are side-effects which can occur after anesthesia, but these do not normally last longer than a couple of days. A sore throat is quite common, and is caused by the dry gases breathed while you are asleep, or by the tube which may have been put down your throat to help you breathe during your operation.
If you feel unwell, or have pain anywhere other than at the site of your wound, do tell the anesthetist – or a nurse on your ward – so that the reasons for it can be discovered.
Pain relief
The house surgeon and nurses on your ward will be able to give you analgesics to control any pain. However, if these drugs are not enough, do tell the anesthetist or ward staff, which may be able to give you something more effective.
The amount of pain suffered after a breast operation varies from person to person. Some women have pain or slight discomfort for only 12 to 24 hours and will not need any pain-killing injections after this. Others may need injections for up to 3 days after their operation.
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