The
word "anesthesia" refers to the inability to feel. In a
medical sense, anesthesia essentially refers to a broad range of medications
used to make surgery possible. These drugs also make a person comfortable
and pain-free during an operation.
There are many different types of anesthesia and the type that is
used is determined by the situation. For mild procedures, such as
stitching up a cut, local anesthesia is used. Commonly known as "numbing"
medicine, local anesthesia drugs are usually injected under the skin
to make an area numb. The effects of the pain medicine are only in
the area being treated.
But other types of anesthesia can make people sleepy, unconscious,
paralyzed or unable to feel a large part of their body. These stronger
drugs affect the brain or spinal cord and are usually inhaled or injected
directly into the veins through an "IV." An IV is a thin
tube that is inserted through the skin and into a vein, usually in
the hand or arm.
"Regional" anesthesia usually refers to one of the two commonly
used types of pain control: a "spinal" or an "epidural."
In these types of anesthesia, a thin tube is inserted through the
skin of the back and into the spinal column. Pain medicine can then
be injected around the spinal cord, which is the location from where
the nerves that feel pain come from. This type of anesthesia is commonly
used in childbirth and major operations. People can either be awake
or asleep during this type of surgery, but they cannot feel pain.
"General" anesthesia is used for most major operations.
In this type of anesthesia, people are put completely to sleep with
medications and their muscles completely paralyzed. A person must
be hooked up to an artificial breathing machine while they are paralyzed.
This involves inserting a special tube through the mouth and into
the main windpipe. The machine then blows oxygen, and often anesthesia
medications, into the person's lungs.
Other types of pain control also exist. In most cases, the more involved
the operation is, the "deeper" the anesthesia must be. Surgery
or procedures that only affect the skin often requires only local
anesthesia with or without mild sedation. Surgery affecting the deeper
internal organs often requires general anesthesia to paralyze the
muscles and help control the blood pressure and other functions.
Though anesthesia medicine is fairly safe, all drugs have possible
side effects. In addition, there are risks associated with any procedure
that is being performed. The risks of anesthesia are related to the
type of anesthesia and the specific medicines used. For example, local
anesthesia drugs can cause allergic reactions, and rarely, seizures.
Regional anesthesia can result in a headache or bleeding complications.
General anesthesia can rarely result in kidney or liver damage or
even death. Other drugs, such as those used to control the heart rate
or the blood pressure, also have possible side effects.
After receiving any anesthesia drug, which affects more than just
the skin, a person must often be monitored for some time after the
procedure or surgery. This is often done in an area called the "recovery"
room. People who have a minor "day" surgery and only receive
a mild sedative may only need to be watched for 20 minutes. At this
point, people in this situation are often free to leave if someone
can drive them home. Those having a major operation may need to go
to the intensive care unit in the hospital and remain on an artificial
breathing machine for a few days after surgery.
When only "numbing" medicine is used, the person who gives
the anesthesia is often the doctor performing the procedure. When
"deeper" forms of anesthesia are needed, a specially trained
doctor called an anesthesiologist usually gives the medicines and
helps keep people alive while the surgeon performs the operation.
The surgeon and anesthesiologist work closely with the rest of the
staff to make the surgery a success.
Most people don't need to be convinced that they need pain medicines
during surgery. However, anesthesia serves other roles, such as making
surgery safer for the patient and easier for the surgeon. Before a
person has surgery, his or her doctor will always discuss the different
options available for pain control.
Feature Archives