In the past, this has been accomplished by giving the patient drugs that ensured a kind of deep sleep lasting through surgery. The dramatic trend toward outpatient surgery, along with the increasing skills of anesthesiologists with newer techniques, means that the use of local anesthesia is growing rapidly. There can be advantages for using local anesthesia with hospitalized patients as well. General anesthesia is still the most commonly used form of surgical anesthesia, according to Dr. Peter Buckley, University of Washington associate professor of anesthesiology, but increasingly, the benefits of local anesthesia are being appreciated by patients and physicians alike. Regional anesthesia means blocking the nerve supply to a part of the body, such as an arm or shoulder, so that you cannot feel pain in that area.
Local anesthesia is similar, but often applies to the numbing of a smaller area.
Most of us are familiar with the use of Novocain by the dentist, a type of local anesthetic. Regional and local are terms that are often used interchangeably. Anesthesiologists across the country report that up to 20 percent of all surgeries are now done under local anesthetic. Over the years, all types of anesthesia for surgery have achieved remarkable safety records, but local anesthesia is probably even safer than other forms. The use of local anesthesia avoids some nausea and vomiting.