Anesthesia Services

Anesthesia is used to block the sensation of pain, allowing patients to undergo surgery and other procedures without the distress and pain they would normally experience.

Two distinguished physicians serve as co-directors of the Department of Anesthesiology at SOCH.  Dr. Mordechai Bermann and Dr. Howard Denenberg are associate professors in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.  The Robert Wood Johnson Medical Group provides SOCH patients with state-of-the-art anesthesia services.

Types of anesthesia that are used depend on the medical history of the patient, and the type and duration of the procedure.  Types of anesthesia include:

Local anesthesia: This involves numbing a small area by injecting a local anesthetic under the skin just where an incision is to be made.  It causes a patient to lose sensation in a very specific area.

Regional anesthesia: This is used to numb a portion of the body without putting the patient into a state of unconsciousness. Examples of this are spinal anesthesia and epidural administration, which both cause a loss of sensation in the lower body.

Conscious sedation:  Conscious sedation is caused when an anesthesiologist delivers depressant drugs and/or analgesics. The patient feels no pain and does not remember the period of time that he or she is under anesthesia. In addition, even though the patient may fall asleep, they can remain conscious enough to respond to any questions or to swallow or cough. Conscious sedation is often used in conjunction with regional anesthesia. A colonoscopy is a common procedure where conscious sedation is used.

General anesthetics:  General anesthetics produce an unconscious state. In this state a person is unaware of what is happening, they are pain-free, immobile and free from any memory of the period of time during which he or she is anesthetized. General anesthesia can be delivered as an inhaled gas or as an injected liquid.

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