General anesthesia is essentially a medically induced temporary coma.
General anesthetics produce a reversible loss of consciousness and analgesia in order for surgeons to operate on a patient. Their use is common, but how they produce their effect is not yet fully understood.
Typically, anesthesia drugs are given intravenously or inhaled. Under general anesthesia, the patient cannot feel pain and may also have amnesia.
The medications are administered by an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist , a doctor or specially trained nurse who will also monitor the patient’s vital signs and breathing rate during the procedure.
Anesthetists have been employed in surgery since 1842, when Crawford Long administered diethyl ether to a patient and performed the first painless operation.
Side effects
There are a number of potential side effects of anesthesia. Some individuals may experience none and other individuals a few effects. Neither of them are particularly long-lasting and tend to occur immediately after anesthesia. They include:
-temporary confusion and memory loss, although this is more common in the elderly.
-dizziness
-Difficulty urinating
-Hematomas or pain from the intravenous drip.
-nausea and vomiting
-shivering and cold
-sore throat, due to breathing tube
What are the risks of general anesthesia?
“General anesthesia is a very safe and controlled procedure that allows us to induce a state of unconsciousness, which inhibits pain throughout surgical interventions and specific medical tests,” explains Dr. Siro Tato López, specialist in general anesthesia and sedation. at Dr. Silmi’s Clinic (Silmi Dental) and a member of TopDoctors.
Even particularly sick patients can be safely anesthetized. It is the surgical procedure itself that offers the greatest risk. However, older adults and those who undergo lengthy procedures are at higher risk for negative results. These outcomes can include postoperative confusion, myocardial infarction, pneumonia, and stroke.
“By supplying a series of drugs, the anesthesiologist will ensure that the patient remains in a state similar to sleep. Control of vital functions is essential. In many cases, in addition to administering anesthetic drugs, muscle relaxant compounds are given. For this reason, intubation of the patient during surgery is frequent.
“The reality is that general anesthesia does not carry too many risks. Normally the side effects of anesthesia are a consequence of previous pathologies and other factors, such as the physical condition of the patient and his age. In order to have all the relevant information Before administering general anesthesia, the specialist will carry out a preoperative examination, thus carefully analyzing the patient’s medical history, avoiding risks beforehand ”, says Tato López.
Some specific conditions increase the risk for the patient undergoing general anesthesia, such as:
-obstructive sleep apnea
-seizures
-existing heart, kidney or lung conditions.
-high blood pressure
-alcoholism
– smoking
-history of reactions to anesthesia
-medicines that can increase bleeding (such as aspirin)
-medication allergies
-diabetes
-obesity or overweight
Death as a result of general anesthesia does occur, but only very rarely, in about 1 in 100,000-200,000 people.
Types of anesthesia
There are three main types of anesthesia: general, local, and regional anesthesia. All of them affect the nervous system in some way.
“ General anesthesia is the administration of different drugs in order to avoid pain and stress during some medical procedures, such as complex surgeries or other treatments. The anesthesiologist is the specialist in charge of dosing and supplying anesthesia to the patient ”, clarifies the expert.
Local anesthesia is another option. It is given before minor surgeries, such as removing a nail. This reduces pain sensations in small areas of the body, but the person receiving the treatment remains conscious the entire time.
Regional anesthesia numbs an entire portion of the body, the lower half, for example, during childbirth. There are two main forms of regional anesthesia: spinal anesthesia and epidural anesthesia.
Local or general?
There are a number of reasons why general anesthesia is often chosen over local anesthesia. In some cases, the patient is asked to choose. This choice depends on age, health status, and personal preference.
The main reasons for opting for general anesthesia are:
-The procedure will take a long time.
-There is the possibility of significant blood loss.
-Breathing may be affected, as in a chest operation.
-The procedure will make the patient uncomfortable.
-The patient may be very young and may have difficulty staying still.
However, the use of general anesthesia poses a higher risk of complications than local anesthesia . If the surgery is milder, local anesthesia may be chosen, especially if you have an underlying condition, such as sleep apnea.
Stages of anesthesia
The Guedel classification, designed by Arthur Ernest Guedel in 1937, describes the four stages of anesthesia. Modern anesthetics and updated delivery methods have improved speed of initiation, overall safety, and recovery, but the four stages remain essentially the same:
Stage 1, or induction : This phase occurs between the administration of the drug and the loss of consciousness. The patient passes from analgesia without amnesia to analgesia with amnesia.
Stage 2, or arousal stage: the period after a loss of consciousness, characterized by exciting and delusional activity. Breathing and heart rate become erratic, and there may be nausea, pupil dilation, and shortness of breath. Due to irregular breathing and the risk of vomiting, there is a danger of suffocation. Modern, fast-acting medications aim to limit the time spent in stage 2 anesthesia.
Stage 3, or surgical anesthesia : Muscles relax, vomiting stops, and breathing is calm. Slow eye movements take place and then stop. The patient is ready for surgery.
The anesthetist’s priority is to get the patient to stage 3 anesthesia as quickly as possible and keep them there throughout the surgery.
Step 4, or overdose: s and administered too much medication, leading to suppression of the brain or spinal cord stem. This leads to respiratory and cardiovascular collapse.
