Surgery with Intravenous Sedation

The Sedation

• Intravenous sedation will help to relax you during your surgery.
• It does not put you to sleep or result in loss of consciousness.
• The sedation medication will be administered into a vein in your arm.
• Your blood pressure, pulse rate and oxygen level will be monitored throughout.
• Local anaesthetic injections will be given in your mouth to numb the surgical site(s) once you are sedated.
• Further sedation will be administered as necessary.

Before Surgery with Sedation

• You must not eat or drink anything (including water), or chew gum, for six hours before your sedation and surgery.
• You must arrive with a responsible adult who agrees to drive you home and remain with you for 24 hours.
• You should wear loose comfortable clothing.

After Surgery with Sedation

• When you have recovered sufficiently from the sedation and surgery, you will be discharged into the care of your accompanying adult.
• Your judgment and co-ordination will be affected temporarily. Therefore you must not be alone or assume positions of responsibility for 24 hours. You must not drive a car, drink alcohol, make important decisions, work with machinery, exercise, cook, or look after children.
• Numbness or tingling of the lower lip and the tongue, from the local anaesthetic, can last several hours. This may interfere with speech and eating/drinking. In some cases these changes may last longer but can usually be expected to resolve with time. Avoid biting or burning the lip and tongue while they are still numb.
• After an extensive or lengthy procedure it is best to rest by sitting in a comfortable chair or by retiring to bed and resting with your head and shoulders elevated on 2 pillows.