Surgical Anesthesia

Surgical Anesthesia encompasses the entire span of intra-operative procedures. Our highly specialized anesthesiologists work closely with the surgical team to choose the best possible anesthesia option for each patient. In many surgical cases, regional nerve-block techniques can be used to replace general anesthesia.

Cardiac Surgery

The Cardiac Anesthesia Service at Brigham and Women’s Hospital is a referral center for patients across New England and around the world, serving patients with complex cardiac problems and other severe coexisting diseases.

Using the resources of the Hospital and the Department, including our own intraoperative Transesophageal Echocardiography (TEE) Service, this team is able to provide the highest level of care to these very ill patients.

Our diverse and challenging caseload includes:

  • Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)
  • Valve repair and replacement
  • Minimally invasive CABG and valve surgery
  • Transmyocardial laser revascularization
  • Repair of aortic aneurysms and dissections
  • Placement of ventricular assist devices as a bridge to transplant
  • Cardiac transplantation
  • Adult congenital heart procedures

BWH Heart & Vascular Center

For nearly a century, Brigham and Women’s Hospital has been at the epicenter for innovation and discovery in cardiovascular care and research. Our Heart & Vascular Center is poised to lead the way in shaping cardiovascular care in years to come.

The way we deliver care to patients within our state-of the-art Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Cardiovascular Center – integrating all of our cardiovascular services to create a truly collaborative environment that fosters teamwork amongst all of our specialists – serves as a catalyst for groundbreaking advances in heart and vascular care and research.

Learn more about the services of our renowned Heart & Vascular Center.

Residents and Fellows

Our cardiac and thoracic anesthesia services provide perioperative care to thousands of surgical patients each year. This provides our residents and fellows with a comprehensive patient care experience in the full spectrum of health problems related to cardiovascular and thoracic disorders requiring surgical intervention.

Learn more about our Department’s Residency program.

Learn more about our Cardiothoracic Anesthesia Fellowship Program.

General Surgery

General surgery anesthesia encompasses the entire span of intra-abdominal procedures, including colorectal, oncological, gynecologic, endocrine, hepatic, bariatric, urological, plastic and more. The General Anesthesia Service at Brigham and Women’s Hospital is the largest within the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine.

Our anesthesiologists specialize in providing evidence-based anesthesia solutions for highly complex surgeries. Our particular interest is in improving patients’ recovery and outcomes. We work closely with the surgical team to deliver safe, effective perioperative care, developing specialized plans to meet each patient’s needs.

Among our specialty areas is anesthesia for robotic surgery, a growing field that offers great promise. Other areas of focus include enhanced regional anesthesia techniques to help patients recover faster, and reduced narcotics to support normal intestinal function after surgery. We also are investigating ways to improve anesthesia for elderly patients, to reduce the impact on their cognitive function and deliria after surgery.

Neuroanesthesia

The Neuroanesthesia Service offers many of the newest techniques in this rapidly evolving subspecialty. The Service manages anesthesia for real-time intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging, awake craniotomies for speech, motor, and seizure mapping, plus the latest in neural monitoring.

With a caseload exceeding 1,300 per year, the Neuroanesthesia Service has its own staff of monitoring technicians, as well as experts in both raw and processed EEG monitoring, burst suppression techniques, somatosensory, auditory, visual, and brainstem and motor-evoked potentials, and facial nerve monitoring.

Orthopedic Surgery

Orthopedic surgery takes many forms, from torn ligament repairs to full joint replacements of the knee and hip. The experts with the Orthopedic Anesthesia Service at Brigham and Women’s Hospital offer a variety of anesthesia options for these procedures.

The use of epidural anesthesia as an alternative to general anesthesia is associated with improved outcomes, shortened hospital stays and lower healthcare costs for patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgery. We work with patients and their surgeons to determine the best type of anesthesia for their particular circumstance.

Our involvement in patient care does not end once the surgery is completed. We also provide post-surgical pain management to help each patient’s recovery.

Thoracic Anesthesia

Brigham and Women's Hospital is a world-class referral site for the most complex thoracic surgical procedures, and it is the largest thoracic surgical center in New England .

From volume reduction surgery to extrapleural pneumonectomy, lung transplantation to airway laser surgery, our Thoracic Anesthesia Service provides the most advanced perioperative patient care. The Service and its highly skilled trainees provide for the workup, assessment and development of a sound anesthetic plan for patients about to undergo complex clinical procedures.

Fellowship Program

Our cardiac and thoracic anesthesia divisions provide perioperative care to thousands of surgical patients each year. This provides our fellows with a comprehensive patient care experience in the full spectrum of health issues related to cardiovascular and thoracic disorders requiring surgical intervention.

Learn more about our Cardiothoracic Anesthesia fellowship program.

Transplant Surgery

Because of their complexity, transplant surgeries require the expertise of a transplant anesthesiologist. Our anesthesiologists are an integral part of surgical organ transplantation teams at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Our transplant anesthesiologists have an extensive background in critical care medicine and are expert in administering anesthetics to patients who are often the most critically ill. They work with others on the transplantation team to closely monitor patient’s vital life functions before, during and after the transplant procedure, and provide pain management during recovery.

Vascular Surgery

Nearly 900 vascular operations are performed yearly at Brigham and Women's Hospital. The Vascular Anesthesia Service manages a wide variety of cases, many involving significant coexisting diseases such as coronary artery disease, hypertension, obstructive lung disease and diabetes.

Vascular anesthesiology specialists provide services in operations that include:

  • Carotid endarterectomy
  • Thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair
  • Suprarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm repair
  • A variety of peripheral vascular procedures

Learn more about Brigham and Women's Hospital


For over a century, a leader in patient care, medical education and research, with expertise in virtually every specialty of medicine and surgery.

About BWH