What is regional anesthesia?
Regional anesthesia is often used for surgery on the arms, legs, or abdomen, or during childbirth. Part of your body is numbed by injecting anesthetic near your spine or near nerves in your arms, neck, or legs. The region will begin to feel numb in a few minutes. You might also be given sedatives through your IV to help you relax and sleep through surgery. Regional anesthesia is often used to provide pain relief after surgery on the arms or legs.
A Regional Anesthesia is useful in operations on extremeties or the lower abdomen by numbing regions of the body. Examples include: epidurals, saddle block, spinal block, axillary block, and intravenous (Bier) block. Intravenous sedatives are included in a regional anesthetic so that the patient is relaxed, sleepy, or even napping throughout the procedure.
