Anesthesia is of utmost importance in any surgical manipulation. General anesthesia is necessary for complete muscle relaxation, sufficient patient analgesia. In addition, he relieves the patient of unpleasant memories of the operation. But there are many frightening misconceptions about this kind of anesthesia, which makes it difficult for the patient to interact with the doctor.
Is it possible to do general anesthesia at all, how dangerous is it to health and life?
Among the common opinions about the type of analgesia described, there are myths that anesthesia shortens the life span, negatively affects the work of the heart, leads to irreversible brain function abnormalities, and even fraught with a fatal outcome.
In fact, all these assumptions are common fictions. General analgesia is an absolutely safe way of temporarily suppressing consciousness. Moreover, it causes much less complications and adverse side effects than local anesthesia, not to mention mortality - the risk of death, for example, from a fallen icicle 25 times higher.
It is important to note that preparations for the introduction of patients into the state of anesthesia are constantly being improved. Therefore, do not worry about the development of allergic reactions. A professional anesthesiologist always collects data about the patient's health in advance in order to avoid possible negative consequences.
What are the contraindications to general anesthesia?
There are no absolute contraindications to the variety of analgesia under consideration. A huge number of different medicines for anesthesia have been developed, the combination of which allows to select an individual combination of medicines for each patient. In some cases, the anesthetist uses about fifteen funds.
Nevertheless, sometimes it is necessary to postpone the operation with the use of general anesthesia due to high arterial pressure or exacerbation of chronic pathologies. But surgical intervention is not canceled, but only postponed until the moment when the patient's condition is satisfactory.
How is an operation performed under general anesthesia?
After the decision to conduct surgical manipulations, a thorough examination of the patient and collection of data to compile an accurate anamnesis begins.
Before general anesthesia, it is established that a person has a tendency to allergic reactions to various drugs, chronic diseases of the cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous system.
Also, the anesthesiologist, together with the patient, in accordance with his psychological and physical condition, chooses the method of analgesia. Medications for depression of consciousness can be introduced by 3 methods:
- Intravenously. A special catheter is used, the drug is injected into the bloodstream during intravenous anesthesia .
- Inhalation. Anesthetic is delivered to the respiratory organs by means of a face mask.
- Combined. Apply both of the above anesthesia techniques.
At the beginning of the operation, the anesthetist performs standard activities - checks the heart, breathes, and makes a puncture of the peripheral vein. After this, the patient is entered into a state of deep sleep.
With prolonged surgical interventions, the risk of respiratory depression should be avoided, and therefore the airway is passable. It can be implemented in two ways:
- The intubation tube. With the help of a laryngoscope, you enter the larynx and then intubate the trachea.
- Laryngeal mask. The device is installed in the throat without penetrating the larynx.
After the operation, the devices to maintain breathing are removed.