Anesthesia – Complications

Transcript

Complication can happen while undergoing anesthesia. These are very rare and can include everything from back pain and postural headache after receiving an epidural or spinal, tooth injury or bruising with general anesthesia, to more serious and potentially life threatening complications. More serious side effects include anaphylaxis, which is an allergic reaction to medications given during anesthesia, aspiration pneumonitis, which is aspiration of stomach content that can lead to a lung infection, and respiratory depression due to certain medications used, and or underlying breathing problems like obstructive sleep apnea, morbid obesity, COPD, and asthma. Due to careful continuous monitoring during surgery and anesthesia and a detailed anesthesia interview prior to surgery, these complications and the potential risk of these complications are mitigated as much as possible. And if they do occur, your anesthesia care team will address these complications immediately and treat them aggressively. However, in very rare circumstances, these complications can lead to permanent damage or death. Some of these serious complications can be avoided by sharing all your medical history with your anesthesiologist and by you answering all questions openly. And honestly, no information is ever too little not to share. And your anesthesiologist will be happy to discuss all your comments and concerns prior to surgery, to be able to take care of you in the best and safest way possible.