Diagnosis and Procedures

Medical Dictionary

Ambulatory Surgery - surgery that requires less than 24 hours in the hospital or surgery center. Also called "outpatient surgery" or "same-day surgery".

Anesthesia - medication that prevents pain during surgery.

Anesthesiologist - a doctor who specializes in anesthesia.

Drainage tube - a tube inserted at the incision site to drain excess fluid.

General anesthesia - medication that puts you completely to sleep.

Intravenous or IV Line - a thin tube that delivers medications, fluids, or blood directly into a vein.

Local anesthesia - medication that numbs only the surgery site.

MAC - monitored anesthesia care. This medication makes you drowsy or lightly asleep.

OR - operating room. The room where surgery is performed.

PACU - post anesthesia care unit. The recovery room where a patient may stay until anesthesia wears off.

Regional anesthesia - medication that numbs one region of your body.

Surgery consent - a legal form the patient signs before surgery. It states that the patient understands the risks and benefits of surgery.

Vital signs - your temperature, heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure.

Diagnois & Procedures

The following links are available to provide our patients with addition information about their specific condition and surgical procedures. The links provided are the property of Medline Plus a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and The National Institute of Health.