Twilight Anaesthesia

Conscious sedation, also known as "twilight" anaesthesia, is a type of anaesthesia which is preferred by many patients for most of our surgical procedures. It is a very comfortable and gentle type of anaesthesia which is far less invasive than the typical general anaesthesia but at the same time highly effective. It is also of advantage for very nervous or anxious patients undergoing quite minor procedures. Typically patients sleep most of the way through their procedure and have no or very little recollection of it at all. You are looked after throughout the procedure by a specialist consultant anaesthetist who has many years of experience of this type of anaesthesia, so that your surgeon can concentrate fully on your operation.

Shortly before moving to the operating room, a small tube (cannula) is placed into a vein in the back of your hand by the consultant anaesthetist and the anaesthetic drugs are given through that. These are Midazolam (a short acting type of Valium) and Propofol, a drug which is also used for general anaesthesia but, for conscious sedation, much lower doses are used. With conscious sedation there is no breathing tube or breathing machine, just a gentle flow of oxygen given through a plastic tube within a soft sponge protector inserted into one of your nostrils. Once the sedation has been commenced a local anaesthetic solution (a mixture of Marcaine and Lignocaine) is injected into the operative area to ensure a painless procedure. Typical side effects of general anaesthesia including a sore throat and nausea are avoided. Waking up takes only a few minutes at the completion of the surgery and is usually free of any "grogginess." This type of anaesthesia has been used safely and successfully for our surgical procedures for over 15 years.

The consultants who use “twilight anaesthesia” for their patients are:
Mr Saj Ataullah
Arun Brahma
Miss Anne Cook
Mr Brian Leatherbarrow
Ahmed Sadiq