Don't panic when it comes to surgical anesthesia. These knowledge have long been known. When it comes to surgery, it is an important thing for any person or family, and anesthesia is the prerequisite for ensuring the safety and smooth progress of the surgery. Since anesthesia plays such an important role in surgery, let me briefly introduce the basic knowledge of anesthesia, the key points of anesthesia coordination, and the issues that need to be paid attention to during anesthesia.
What are the anesthesia methods?
1. Local anesthesia and nerve block: Narrowly speaking, it is the direct injection of anesthetics into the surgical site, and the scope of anesthesia is limited to a very small area of the surgical site. Broadly speaking, it includes various nerve blocks, injecting local anesthetics into the nerve plexus that innervates the surgical site, temporarily blocking the signal transduction of spinal cord neurons or nerve trunks to prevent pain signals from being transmitted to the brain, and keeping the patient awake during surgery.
2. General anesthesia: Patients can inhale oxygen and general anesthesia drugs through respiratory masks or endotracheal tubes, or be administered intravenously. The purpose is to make patients unconscious, unaware, and have no other sensations during surgery. At the same time, various devices are used to closely monitor vital signs and the function of important organs, and anesthesia is carefully regulated and managed. It is a versatile anesthesia method suitable for almost all surgeries.
3. Intraspinal anesthesia: also known as semi anesthesia, is the injection of anesthetic drugs into the subarachnoid or epidural space of the spinal canal to induce anesthesia in the corresponding area innervated by the nerve root, collectively referred to as spinal anesthesia. According to the injection location, it can be divided into subarachnoid anesthesia (commonly known as spinal or lumbar anesthesia), epidural block, lumbar combined anesthesia, sacral block anesthesia, etc.
Does general anesthesia have any impact on the brain?
General anesthesia has no effect on the brain. Anesthetic drugs entering the body have an inhibitory effect on the brain, but this inhibitory effect is reversible and does not damage brain cells or brain function; A large number of clinical trials have also shown that general anesthesia does not significantly damage the brain in individuals aged three and above.
What should be paid attention to during anesthesia?
1. Water fasting is required: Before anesthesia for surgery, water fasting is necessary, that is, do not eat or drink first, mainly to allow the food in the stomach to be digested, in order to avoid the reflux of stomach contents during surgery, which may cause suffocation and aspiration pneumonia. Generally, the normal emptying time of the stomach for easily digestible solid food is about 6 hours, and the emptying time for water and clear drinks (such as tea, soda water, etc.) is at least 2 hours. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure the emptying of the stomach before surgery. That is to say, if the doctor has no special requirements for the patient, they must not eat anything again for at least 6 hours before surgery and cannot drink water again for 2 hours. For patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery or other elective surgeries with special or higher requirements for preoperative fasting, fasting should be carried out according to the requirements of a specialist doctor.
2. Maintain a good mental state before surgical anesthesia: Regardless of the anesthesia method, patients need to maintain a good mental state before surgical anesthesia. If it is a scheduled surgery, they must rest well the night before the surgery and try to relax. If they cannot sleep, they can communicate with the attending physician and choose appropriate sedatives to let the patient sleep well, maintain a good mental state and a certain amount of physical strength to better tolerate the surgical stress in the future; If it is an emergency surgery, try to relax and cooperate with the doctor as much as possible.
3. Precautions for Anesthetic Drugs: Anesthetic drugs also need to be taken into account during use. Improper dosage, concentration, and injection speed, including accidental injection of medication into blood vessels, or even patients' own physical problems, may cause many serious adverse reactions, such as toxic reactions, hypersensitivity reactions, and allergic reactions. Therefore, when formulating anesthesia plans and selecting anesthesia drugs and methods for patients, doctors should have a thorough understanding of the patient's condition and past medical history, use appropriate anesthesia methods and drugs, and monitor the patient's blood pressure and electrocardiogram in real time. They should also take preventive measures for unexpected situations, and the patient should truthfully answer the questions asked by the anesthesiologist. Only in this way can doctors better perform every surgery and safeguard the health of patients.
In summary, it can be seen that the appropriate anesthesia method needs to be considered comprehensively, such as whether the puncture site is suitable for local anesthesia operation, whether there are difficult airways, and whether anticoagulants have been taken recently. It cannot be generalized. The ultimate goal is to ensure the safety of patients during the perioperative period! If you knew these things, I think your fear would be better. When you enter the operating room, chat with the medical staff, and then go to sleep! I woke up and the surgery was done. Are you still panicking now?