Sedation involves using small amounts of anaesthetic drugs to produce a ‘sleep-like’ state. It makes you physically and mentally relaxed, but not unconscious.
Many people having a local or regional anaesthetic do not want to be awake for surgery. They choose to have sedation as well.
If you have sedation, you may remember little or nothing about the operation or procedure. However, sedation does not guarantee that you will have no memory of the operation. Only a general anaesthetic can do that.
The NHS Lothian sedation page is still in progess. In the meantime we encourage you to read the excellent Royal College of Anaesthetists patient information leaflet.
PLEASE NOTE
This website includes content taken from the Royal College of Anaesthetists’ (RCoA) leaflets ‘Fitter, Better, Sooner (2018)’, ‘You and your anaesthetic (2020)’, ‘Anaesthesia explained (2015)’, and ‘Common events and risks in anaesthesia(2019)’. However, The RCoA has not reviewed the website as a whole. Some of the RCoA infographics used on the website have been adapted for web viewing.
