Questions patients actually ask us

If you are having a general anaesthetic — yes. You will be unconscious, feel nothing, and remember nothing of the operation. Some procedures instead use sedation (you are deeply relaxed and usually remember little or nothing) or regional anaesthesia (the area is completely numb while you stay comfortable). Your anaesthetist tells you exactly which is planned for you, and why, before anything happens.

Quicker and gentler than most people expect. A small cannula is placed in the back of your hand — a brief sting, like a blood test. The anaesthetic is given through it, you may notice a cool sensation up your arm or a light-headed floating feeling, and within about thirty seconds you are asleep. The next thing you know is waking up in recovery; for you, the operation takes no time at all.

An empty stomach prevents stomach contents entering your lungs while your protective reflexes are switched off by the anaesthetic. It is a genuine safety requirement: if you have eaten inside the fasting window, your procedure will usually be delayed or postponed. If you slip up, tell the staff honestly — it matters for your safety, and no one will be cross.

Usually yes, with a small sip of water — but blood thinners, diabetes medications and weight-loss injections need specific individual advice, so never stop or change these on your own. List everything you take on your booking form and follow the instructions you are given.

Everything, honestly: medical conditions, all medications and supplements, allergies and reactions, problems with past anaesthetics (yours or your blood relatives'), loose teeth or dental work, smoking, alcohol and any other substances, and whether you could be pregnant. None of it is judged — all of it changes how your anaesthetic is planned. The booking form is where it starts.

Yes — for every minute of it. Your anaesthetist gives the anaesthetic, then continuously monitors your heart, breathing, blood pressure, temperature and comfort, adjusting from moment to moment. While you are asleep, their only patient is you.

Awareness under general anaesthesia is very rare. Your anaesthetist monitors your depth of anaesthesia continuously throughout, alongside everything else. If this worries you — and it is one of the most common worries — say so when you meet your anaesthetist; they will gladly explain exactly how they monitor you.

It is planned before you feel anything: pain relief is built into your anaesthetic while you are still asleep, so you wake as comfortable as possible. Many procedures also use local anaesthetic in the wound or a regional block — a numb area instead of pain. Recovery nurses then adjust your relief minute to minute, and for bigger operations your anaesthetist plans the pain relief that goes home with you.

Responding to the unexpected is precisely what an anaesthetist is for. Your anaesthetist is a specialist doctor trained in resuscitation and crisis management, watching your vital signs continuously with the equipment and drugs to respond immediately. This constant specialist presence is the main reason modern anaesthesia in Australia is as safe as it is.

Most people surface gradually in the recovery unit — drowsy, a little foggy, sometimes with a dry mouth or sore throat from the breathing tube. A recovery nurse is right beside you, your pain relief is already working, and the fog lifts over the following hour. Some people feel emotional or shivery for a short while; both are normal and pass.

Far less likely than it used to be. Your anaesthetist assesses your individual risk — past experiences, motion sickness, the type of surgery — and builds preventive anti-nausea medication into your anaesthetic. If you have felt sick after a previous anaesthetic, note it on your booking form; it directly changes how your anaesthetic is planned.

Not for at least 24 hours after a general anaesthetic or sedation — longer if you are advised so. The drugs affect judgement and reflexes well after you feel normal, and your insurance may not cover you. For the same 24 hours: no alcohol, no important decisions, no signing documents, and have a responsible adult stay with you overnight.

For a short day procedure, most people feel near-normal within a day or two, with tiredness sometimes lingering a little longer. After bigger surgery, the anaesthetic is rarely the limiting factor — recovery follows the operation itself. If anything feels wrong after you are home, contact the hospital on the number on your discharge paperwork; in an emergency, call 000.

It depends on your procedure, its duration, and your health fund cover — which is why we prepare a written estimate before your procedure. Many patients with health fund cover have no out-of-pocket cost under no-gap arrangements; where there is a gap, you will know the amount before the day. Our fees page explains exactly how anaesthetic fees work.

In Australian private hospitals your surgeon, your anaesthetist and the hospital are independent providers, each issuing their own account, with Medicare and your fund treating each separately. The anaesthetic fee is the professional fee of the specialist doctor monitoring you throughout — not an extra.

After your procedure, because the final fee depends partly on the actual duration of your anaesthetic. Under a no-gap arrangement there may be nothing for you to pay at all. Questions about your account? Call our team — if something looks wrong, we would genuinely rather hear about it and fix it.

Children have their own fasting times, their own dosing, and their own ways of being helped through the day — our anaesthetists provide paediatric anaesthesia regularly, and the hospital will give you child-specific instructions. Children can often drift off with a parent nearby, and many barely remember the day at all.

A calm parent helps more than anything else. Be honest in simple words — "you'll have a special sleep so the doctor can fix you, and I'll be there when you wake up" — follow the fasting instructions exactly, and bring the comfort toy. Ask the anaesthetist anything that would help you feel prepared; a settled parent makes for a settled child.