Do they do anything surgical or just the anesthesia?
We keep the patient alive during surgery. That requires our full attention and both hands. We let the surgeons do the surgery. We do get to do some procedures, like starting arterial and central lines, spinal and epidural blocks, lots of different nerve blocks, intubations, and so on. Some of the cardiac anesthesiologists are trained to do transesophageal echocardiography, and the pain management anesthesiologists do all sorts of invasive procedures. And never say just the anesthesia - it's the most important part, keeping people alive!
No. An anesthesiologist stays by the patient's side throughout surgery--they do NOT however perform surgery.
no, that's called a surgeon.
