Expert: Ronald Levy, M.D. - 7/24/2010

Question
Hi Doc,
I visited my GI doc to schedule a colonoscopy and I found that in the endoscopy center there are no anesthesiologists, but only nurse anesthetists. There are no supervising anesthesiologists and the center is not connected to a hospital in case of an emergency.
There are other places where the GI docs do have anesthesiologists helping.   If it were you, would you feel most comfortable going where your anesthesia would be administered by a doc?

Answer
You actually have it better than most places where the GI doc gives the anesthesia with a regular nurse. CRNAs are well qualified to give sedation for endoscopy. The center may not be connected to a hospital but they have to have emergency equipment and they must have a process in place to transfer to the nearest hospital in the event of an emergency. With that being said, if you are otherwise healthy with no major medical problems, I would have no problem having endoscopy at a center like this. It's really a matter of personal comfort. If you absolutely want an anesthesiologist, then you should arrange it that way.

Ronald Levy, MD
Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston