Monitored Anesthesia Care

We collaborate closely with our surgical partners to ensure patients are calm and comfortable throughout the procedure.

About Monitored Anesthesia Care

Monitored Anesthesia Care (MAC) is offered for a range of procedures, from cataract surgery to foot surgery, and includes sedation for colonoscopies and upper endoscopies. It does not require a breathing tube.

Light MAC can include mild sedation when the surgeon would like a patient to be calm and comfortable, yet alert enough to follow directions. For example, during a cataract removal, the surgeon may need the patient to look up and down, or during a trigger finger release procedure, the surgeon may want the patient to make a fist. Our physicians and CRNAs keep patients calm and comfortable, but still responsive to the requests of the surgeon.

A deeper MAC anesthetic can be used during more invasive procedures that do not require cooperation from the patient, but general anesthesia is not needed. This is often called “twilight sleep,” and can include sedation for colonoscopy or upper endoscopy, hemorrhoid surgery, or hand and foot surgery. The surgeon may use local anesthetic to numb the operative area, as in the removal of a lipoma or breast mass. Our physicians may or may not use Propofol for this type of anesthetic. Propofol is a strong anesthetic that has few side effects and is very short-acting. Many patients will wake up feeling refreshed and comfortable.