ANAESTHESIA EXPLAINED
The professional service Dr Arun Ratnavadivel is providing as your Anaesthetist includes pre-anaesthesia consultation, anaesthesia and post-operative care.
PRE-ANAESTHESIA CONSULTATION, A PRE-OPERATIVE ASSESSMENT THAT USUALLY TAKES PLACE AFTER YOU ARE ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL
Dr Arun Ratnavadivel will meet with you before your operation to perform a relevant consultation and examination and to discuss the risks. This may not occur until immediately before your operation.
He will ask you how healthy you are, whether you are taking any medications and about your previous experiences with anaesthesia. He will also discuss the options available for your anaesthesia.
The type of Anaesthesia will depend on the nature and duration of your surgery
During General Anaesthesia you are put into a state of unconsciousness carefully controlled throughout your operation by injecting drugs through a needle placed in a vein, combined with a mixture of gases which you will breathe. These drugs stop the brain from responding to sensory messages travelling from nerves in the body. Anaesthetic unconsciousness is different from a natural sleep. While you are anaesthetised you feel nothing and you will have no memory of what happens. You cannot be woken from an anaesthetic until the drugs are stopped and their effects wear off.
While you are unconscious, the anaesthetist and the theatre team look after you with great care. The anaesthetist monitors your condition closely and constantly and adjusts the level of anaesthesia. The anaesthetist stays near to you all the time.
A general anaesthetic is essential for a very wide range of operations. This includes all major operations on the heart or lungs or in the abdomen, and most operations on the brain or the major arteries. It is also normally needed for laparoscopic (keyhole) operations on the abdomen.
Regional Anaesthesia involves injections of a local anaesthetic near to the nerves which supply a larger or deeper area of the body. The area of the body affected becomes numb. You stay conscious but free from pain.
The nerve block numbs the part of the body where the surgeon operates, and this avoids a general anaesthetic.
Examples of regional anaesthetics include epidurals for labour and eye blocks for cataracts.
Sedation. Many people having a local or regional anaesthetic do not want to be awake for surgery. They choose to have sedation as well. To make things more pleasant, the anaesthetist might administer drugs to make you relaxed and drowsy.
Sedation involves using small amounts of anaesthetic drugs to produce a ‘sleep-like’ state. It makes you physically and mentally relaxed and comfortable, but not unconscious. If you have sedation, you may remember little or nothing about the operation or procedure.
However, sedation does not guarantee that you will have no memory of the operation. Only a general anaesthetic can do that.
Sedation is sometimes called twilight sleep or neurolept and is often used for endoscopy and colonoscopy.
Local Anaesthesia involves injections at the site of the surgery to cause numbness at a small part of your body. It is used when the nerves can be easily reached by drops, sprays, ointments or injections. You will be awake, but comfortable and free from pain.
Common examples of surgery under local anaesthetic are having a cut stitched or teeth removed, and some common operations on the eye.
Regional or local anaesthesia may often be used in association with general anaesthesia.
POST-OPERATIVE CARE
After your operation your anaesthetist will continue to monitor your condition in the recovery room to ensure that you have recovered from your anaesthetic and that you are as comfortable and free of nausea as possible.
ANAESTHETISTS
For your surgery, the Anaesthetist puts you into a state of carefully controlled unconsciousness. While you are anaesthetised you feel nothing and you will have no memory of what happens. Anaesthesia plays a vital role during your surgery as it is essential to support and monitor of your vital bodily functions, such as breathing and circulations.
Your specialist Anaesthetist will look after you throughout your journey, from pre-operative stage, throughout the surgical procedure, your recovery and post-operative care.
Clinical anaesthesia is built on the knowledge of physiology (how the body works) and pharmacology (how medications work in the body). Anaesthetists have an extensive knowledge of medicine and surgery and understanding of the basic sciences. They know how the body responds to anaesthesia and surgery, and how a patient’s health affects these responses.
Anaesthetists are perioperative physicians trained in all forms of anaesthesia and are members of multidisciplinary teams providing healthcare to patients. They assess patients before their procedures and play an important role in caring for the patient before, during and after surgery. They also provide anaesthetic care for patients undergoing non-surgical procedures, particularly if the procedures are long, complex or painful.
Anaesthetists play a pivotal role in resuscitating acutely unwell patients, including trauma victims, and help to manage patients suffering from acute or chronic pain. They also provide pain relief for women during labour and delivery.
Just like your surgeon, your Anaesthetist is a qualified medical practitioner who has had at least five years of specialty training in anaesthesia, in addition to medical school residency.
HOW DO ANAESTHETISTS STAY UP TO DATE
Once Anaesthetists have obtained their Fellowship of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetist (FANZCA), they must continue to update their skills by regularly attending professional development sessions.
Anaesthetists must participate in a continuing professional development (CPD) program that complies with ANZCA’s CPD standard in order for them to practise.
Anaesthetists must take part in a range of services provided and run by the College to ensure they remain up to date with the rapid changes in Anaesthesia and Medicine and that that ANZCA and its Fellows remain at the forefront of innovation and best practice in anaesthesia and pain medicine.