Corey Merritt

What specific precautions will be taken during anesthesia?

The Degree of your obstructive sleep apnea affects how much management is needed for you during anesthesia. The type of anesthesia is also a factor. Most general anesthesia techniques include some sort of airway device such as a breathing tube(ET endotracheal tube) or an LMA(laryngeal mask airway). Sometimes we can do general anesthesia without either of those using just a mask with you breathing on your own. In those cases if you are obstructing we may place an OPA(oral pharyngeal airway) or NPA(nasal pharyngeal airway) to alleviate the obstruction. both of these create like a tunnel from the back of your throat to the outside of your body so your tongue or tissue does not block the air going in and out. With sedation cases we may use an OPA or NPA but often we just move your head or jaw so that it opens up your natural airway and alleviates the obstruction. The main take away is we are watching you and your vital signs the entire time to ensure you are moving air past any potential obstruction.