Dear Doctor: Your surgeon asked you to choose your anesthesia — but a doctor says that's not your call to make

Roach: I’m 78 years old and in pretty good health. I walk 3 miles four times a week, bike 8 miles once a week, and lift weights twice a week. Besides eye drops for glaucoma, the only medication I take is 20 mg of lovastatin each day.

Due to corneal edema, I’ll be having a partial cornea transplant. My surgeon has asked me to decide which anesthesia I want: MAC or LMA. Can you explain the difference between them?

Any advice or insights regarding these two forms of anesthesia would be helpful.