During surgery, your anaesthetist will monitor your level of consciousness, breathing, oxygen level, heart rate and blood pressure. They will usually put a breathing tube into your mouth and give you oxygen. They will continue giving you anaesthetic medicines through your vein or through a mask to keep you unconscious.
Intubation, the insertion of a tube into the patient's trachea to maintain a secure airway and facilitate oxygen delivery, is often associated with general anesthesia. However, intubation is not universally required for general anesthesia. It may be deemed unnecessary for brief procedures involving healthy patients.
A tube may be placed in your throat to help you breathe. During surgery or the procedure, the anesthesiologist will monitor your heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and other vital signs to make sure they are normal and steady while you remain unconscious and free of pain.
General Anesthesia
In order to control your breathing, patients are intubated, which is the insertion of a flexible tube down the windpipe. The tube is inserted after the anesthesia is given and removed as you are waking up and breathing adequately.
Without a ventilator, breathing during general anesthesia would not be possible. Most people are on the ventilator while the surgery is taking place. A drug is given after the operation is complete to stop the effects of the anesthesia.
The process of waking up from anesthesia is known as emergence. During emergence, the anesthesiologist will slowly reduce the amount of anesthetic drugs in the body. This helps to reduce the intensity of the effects of anesthesia and allows the patient to regain consciousness.
Most of the anaesthesia textbooks recommend depth of placement of ET to be 21 cm and 23 cm in adult females and males, respectively, from central incisors. [5,6] It is suggested that the tip of ET should be at least 4 cm from the carina, or the proximal part of the cuff should be 1.5 to 2.5 cm from the vocal cords.
Monitored anesthesia care (MAC) is a type of anesthesia that involves administration of IV sedation while maintaining spontaneous respirations (the patient is fully breathing on their own).
The goal after general anesthesia is to extubate the patient -remove the breathing tube- as quickly as possible after surgery ends. At the end of the procedure, when the procedure is common and uncomplicated, you'll typically be given medications that reverse anesthesia, waking you up and ending the muscle paralysis.
The tube may hurt your throat and voice box, so you could have a sore throat or find it hard to talk and breathe for a time. The procedure may hurt your lungs or cause one of them to collapse.
Normally you swallow saliva and food without choking because part of the swallowing mechanism involves a reflex that covers the opening into the lungs When you are given anesthesia, you lose this ability to protect your lungs from inhaling things you're not supposed to inhale.
CHEST SURGERIES AND OPEN HEART SURGERIES: Almost all intra-thoracic surgeries require an airway tube to guarantee adequate ventilation of anesthetic gases and oxygen in and out of your lungs while the surgeon works inside your chest.
A healthcare provider uses a laryngoscope to guide an endotracheal tube (ETT) into the mouth or nose, voicebox, then trachea. The tube keeps the airway open so air can get to the lungs. Intubation is usually performed in a hospital during an emergency or before surgery.
The condition, called anesthesia awareness (waking up) during surgery, means the patient can recall their surroundings, or an event related to the surgery, while under general anesthesia. Although it can be upsetting, patients usually do not feel pain when experiencing anesthesia awareness.
Expect to be sleepy for an hour or so. Some people feel sick to their stomach, irritable, or confused when waking up. They may have a dry throat from the breathing tube. After you're fully awake and any pain is controlled, you can leave the PACU.
Usually, before having a general anaesthetic, you will not be allowed anything to eat or drink. This is because when the anaesthetic is used, your body's reflexes are temporarily stopped. If your stomach has food and drink in it, there's a risk of vomiting or bringing up food into your throat.
There is continuous monitoring of the electrical activity in your heart, the amount of oxygen in your blood, your pulse rate, and blood pressure. Sometimes a device is used to monitor your brain waves while 'asleep', giving the doctor more detailed information about your level of unconsciousness.
Monitored anesthesia care (MAC) or deep sedation: This method typically involves propofol. It, too, is delivered through an IV but will be administered by the anesthesia team. It does not normally require a breathing tube.
Waking up from anesthesia can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, depending on the type of anesthesia used and the individual's response to it. Generally, most people wake up within 30 minutes of the anesthesia being administered.
Supraglottic Airway (SGA) (E.g. Laryngeal Mask Airway) The supraglottic airway, or SGA is plastic tube with a large cuff that is placed into the back of the throat and is positioned above the opening to the trachea (windpipe). This is an alternative to an endotracheal tube and can be used in certain situations.
Small pieces of sticking tape are commonly used to keep the eyelids fully closed during the anaesthetic. This has been shown to reduce the chance of a corneal abrasion occurring. 1,2 However, bruising of the eyelid can occur when the tape is removed, especially if you have thin skin and bruise easily.
Most often patients are sleepy but conscious while they are on the ventilator—think of when your alarm clock goes off but you aren't yet fully awake.
These breathing tubes can also lead to throat dryness or irritation. In addition, having the tube remain in place can cause further irritation in the mouth and throat. After the tube is removed, it's common for your mouth, throat, and airway to be sore, and you may experience burning and other symptoms.