Are Anesthetics Safe? 5 Fast Facts About Sleeping for Surgery

Got a fear of anesthetics? You aren’t alone. This article is to help you understand a little more about going under for surgery.

• Save

General anesthesia uses drugs or gas to render a patient unconscious during a medical or surgical procedure so that he or she retains no conscious memory of the discomfort associated with that procedure. You probably know that anesthesiologists are the physicians charged with administering anesthesia as well as monitoring blood pressure, heart rate and rhythm, blood oxygen concentrations and other vital signs during the scheduled procedure. Here are some anesthesia facts you may not know:

• According to the American Society of Anesthesiologists, approximately 40 million anesthesia procedures are performed every year.

• Drugs used for general anesthesia are usually injected into the bloodstream from whence they travel to the central nervous system. The exact mechanism through which these drugs produce their effects is unclear, but it’s believed they act on brain and spinal cord neurons, blocking these cells’ abilities to send or receive impulses. Ventilation is maintained by inserting a breathing tube into a patient’s lungs.

• According to Able Dental Group, anesthesia is recommended to patients who need to alleviate pain, reduce anxiety, or have other special needs in order to undergo surgery. All anesthetic procedures are performed by a specialized doctor who often travels from major hospitals to service smaller dental offices and surgery centers.

Gases used to induce general anesthesia are administered through a mask placed over the mouth and nose. Although gas used to be a very common form of general anesthesia, these days it’s mostly used with pediatric patients.

• The most commonly used parenteral anesthetic agents belong to the barbiturate, benzodiazepine and opioid families. Specific drugs include:

* Fentanyl: a strong opioid used to fight pain
* Ketamine: an enzyme inhibitor that produces forgetfulness
* Thiopental: a barbiturate that produces unconsciousness

• General anesthesia can induce nausea in susceptible individuals. This is why your anesthesiologist will tell you not to eat anything for eight hours before your surgery. If your stomach is full and you start to vomit, there is a risk you may aspirate that emesis. This can interfere with your ability to breathe and may also lead to secondary complications like chemical pneumonia. If you’ve eaten in the eight hours before you’re scheduled for surgery and general anesthesia, it’s critically important to let your physicians know so that your procedure can be rescheduled.

• General anesthesia produces an effect that is more like going into a coma than it is like falling asleep, according to a study performed by researchers at Harvard Medical School, Cornell Medical College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and published in the December 30, 2010 edition of “The New England Journal of Medicine.” This may be one of the reasons why some patients take a longer time coming out of general anesthesia.