Your anesthesia risk might be higher if you have or have ever had any of the following conditions: Allergies to anesthesia or a history of adverse reactions to anesthesia. Diabetes. Heart disease (angina, valve disease, heart failure, or a previous heart attack)
Older adults or those with serious medical problems are at increased risk of confusion after surgery. They're also at higher risk of pneumonia, stroke or a heart attack after surgery. This is particularly true if they're undergoing more-extensive procedures.
For most people, anesthesia is very safe. In very rare cases, anesthesia can lead to problems such as abnormal heart rhythms, breathing problems, allergic reactions to the medicines used, and even death. The risks depend on the kind of surgery or procedure, the condition of the patient, and the type of anesthesia used.
More serious but rare complications include: Pneumothorax – When anesthesia is injected near the lungs, the needle may accidentally enter the lung. This could cause the lung to collapse and require a chest tube to be inserted to re-inflate the lung.
Adrenaline secreted in response to fear or pain can prevent local anaesthetic from working properly in some people – the onset may be delayed, anaesthesia not pronounced enough, or it may wear off too quickly.
Another explanation is that the patient does not respond in the normal way and seems more resistant (called 'tolerance' in medical terms) to anesthetic medications. This can be due to other medications used (like benzodiazepines) or alcohol and cocaine abuse. A small group of patients may have an inborn resistance.
More recently, it has been suggested that a mutation in the genetic structure related to sodium channels (which help transmit pain and other signals between nerves) could make people resistant to local anesthesia.
Your anesthesia risk might be higher if you have or have ever had any of the following conditions: Allergies to anesthesia or a history of adverse reactions to anesthesia. Diabetes. Heart disease (angina, valve disease, heart failure, or a previous heart attack)
Overall, general anesthesia is very safe. Even particularly ill patients can be safely anesthetized. The surgical procedure itself offers the most risk. However, older adults and those undergoing lengthy procedures are most at risk of negative outcomes.
Overview. Malignant hyperthermia is a severe reaction to certain drugs used for anesthesia. This severe reaction typically includes a dangerously high body temperature, rigid muscles or spasms, a rapid heart rate, and other symptoms.
If you're having general anesthesia, an anesthesiologist will give you medications that make you lose consciousness. After the surgery is complete, he or she will reverse the medication so that you regain consciousness — but you won't be wide awake right away.
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.
No. After you're unconscious, your anesthesiologist places a breathing tube in your mouth and nose to make sure you maintain proper breathing during the procedure.
Some types of patients, typically those that are critically ill, having cardiac surgery or an emergency C-Section, cannot have full general anesthesia. In those cases, smaller doses of anesthesia are used to prevent medical complications.
The incidence of pulmonary aspiration in anesthesia occurs as often as 1 in every 2,000-3,000 cases. Pulmonary aspiration can be a devastating complication. The incidence of pulmonary aspiration from all causes in the emergency population varies from 1 to 20% depending on the population and situation.
Failure to arouse and delayed awakening are the most common early neurologic problems following general anesthesia. True prolonged postoperative coma is relatively uncommon, with estimates ranging from 0.005 to 0.08 percent following general surgery, but with higher rates reported after cardiac surgery.
Some of the most common complications include: postoperative nausea and vomiting, respiratory depression, acute myocardial infarction, delirium, and fever.
Five complications that commonly occur during anesthesia include hypotension, hypothermia, abnormal heart rate (eg, bradyarrhythmias, tachyarrhythmias), hypoventilation, and difficult recovery (eg, prolonged duration, dysphoria, pain).
Anoxia is the medical term for an absence of oxygen. When anoxia occurs, there are several complications that have the potential to arise. Some of these complications include mental confusion, amnesia, hallucinations, memory loss, personality changes, and more.
Patient risk factors most associated with neuraxial injury are elderly and woman. Death or brain damage related to neuraxial anesthesia is quite rare but each constitute 9% of claims from neuraxial techniques.
The procedures whose risk of mortality is more than five percent include: Emergency aortic surgery. Major surgery on the large intestine in the presence of a complicating condition. Major abdominal surgery of all types in patients aged seventy or higher.
The risk of long-term complications, including death, from anesthesia itself is very small. Complications are more closely related to the surgical procedure and a patient's general health.
Serious allergic reactions during anesthesia are fortunately rare. A serious reaction happens in about 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 20,000 surgical procedures.
Anesthesia Awareness (Waking Up) During Surgery
This means you will have no awareness of the procedure once the anesthesia takes effect, and you won't remember it afterward. Very rarely — in only one or two of every 1,000 medical procedures involving general anesthesia — a patient may become aware or conscious.