What exactly is anesthesia and how does it work? It is most often used during surgery so that the patient does not have to be awake or feel any pain during the procedure. It can also be used to relax the patient and make them forgetful. The medicine used to achieve these results is called anesthetics, but other medicines could be added as well.
There are three main types of anesthesia, including local, regional, and general. Local anesthesia only affects a certain part of the body. In less serious surgeries, the doctor and patient may choose a local anesthetic because the patient is able to remain awake while not feeling any pain in the area where the surgery is occurring. Regional anesthesia does not put the patient entirely to sleep, but blocks pain to a larger portion of the body than a local anesthetic. General anesthetic affects the brain and is administered to the patient through an IV or a gas. A general anesthetic causes the patient to feel no pain as well as forget the entire procedure.
General anesthetics are usually referred to as "going to sleep," but how exactly does it work? The truth is that experts are not exactly sure why this drug affects people as it does. They believe that the spinal cord is affected as are portions of the brain (brain stem reticular activating system and the cerebral cortex). This then changes the electrical activity of the body. When the general anesthesia is first administered, the patient can feel the drugs taking effect, but they are still awake.
Once the patient is unconscious, they may exhibit unusual breathing and heart rate, but this usually does not last for an extended amount of time. After this stage, the patient is considered anesthetized. If the amount of drugs is not regulated and the patient gets too much, the consequences could be brain damage or death.
How does the doctor determine what type of anesthetic to use? First of all, they will examine if the patient has any allergies as well as what their overall health is. They will also take into account the type of surgery and how painful or uncomfortable it will make the patient. Whatever type of anesthesia is chosen, there is always a certain amount of risk. As this is a drug, it can travel throughout the body and affect the individual's blood pressure, breathing, and heartbeat. As different people will react to the same medication in different ways, in some cases there is no way to predict the side effects.
How common are anesthesia errors? Studies have shown that they may be even more common than we think as errors are corrected during surgery and the patient never finds out. In some cases, these errors cannot be corrected without notice, as when they result in serious injury or even death. The anesthesiologist may give the patient too much of the medication or not enough.
The medical staff may fail to properly monitor the patient during the surgery and may therefore not notice serious problems. If the equipment with which the anesthesia was administered was faulty, it could result in serious complications as well. The anesthesiologist is also responsible for checking on the patient's medical history and educating them on the possible risks of anesthesia.
If you lost a loved one because of a mistake on the part of the anesthesiologist or doctor, they should be held responsible for medical malpractice. If you were the victim of an anesthesia error and suffered as a result, you could also have a case. Contact a qualified legal representative to learn more!
