The effect of anesthesia on the child's body. Negative consequences of anesthesia in children: memory, thinking, attention

The article was checked by an anesthesiologist-resuscitator

21.05.2019

203 comments

Any person is afraid not so much of the operation itself as of the anesthesia.

With all its types, an artificially induced reversible state of inhibition of the central nervous system occurs. nervous system, sleep occurs, pain relief, muscle relaxation occurs, and some reflexes are inhibited.

They often ask: “Doctor, will I wake up? How will I feel?”

How long it will take and how you recover from general anesthesia, what sensations you experience - everything is very individual. This directly depends on the initial condition of the patient: his age, weight, gender, concomitant diseases. Special attention It is also worth paying attention to what organ is being operated on:

• Cavity in the abdomen: on the stomach, intestines, appendicitis, etc.;
• Thoracic - that is, thoracic surgery, on the lungs, esophagus, trachea;
• Heart surgery;
• Neurosurgical;
• Burn injury;
• Polytrauma with damage internal organs and musculoskeletal system.

Also directly affects:

• Duration of the operation and its complexity;
• Qualification of an anesthesiologist;
• What drugs are used.

How many people recover from general anesthesia after elective surgery on organs abdominal cavity? If it lasts no more than one or one and a half hours, (this is as a rule) preliminary diagnosis was established before the operation and was confirmed during it, then usually the patient wakes up, or rather the anesthesiologist wakes him up already on the operating table. If everything is normal, reflexes are restored, breathing is adequate, sufficient, the patient has regained consciousness, consciously answers questions, is oriented in place and time, then the patient is transferred to a regular ward under the supervision of a nurse and the attending physician.

Recovery of the body after anesthesia

After waking up while still on the operating table, the patient is drowsy and somewhat lethargic, although in contact with the doctor. When he is transferred to the ward, the patient continues the so-called post-anesthesia sleep. How long does it last? The duration of sleep is different for everyone: usually 1-2 hours, but sometimes it takes 6 hours before you fully wake up.

How many people recover from general anesthesia? This usually occurs completely within 6-12 hours. As a rule, these are patients without concomitant pathology, normal build. Patients who are overweight, in other words, obese, as well as with a history of alcoholism, who use drugs, who are emotionally unbalanced, with impaired liver and kidney function, recover a little longer - within two days. But, again, everything is individual, and each specific case may be different, since we are all different.

Funny and sad fact: Coming out of general anesthesia after surgery can be compared to a condition familiar to many alcohol intoxication! They drank the same amount, with one being “a fool and a fool,” and the other quickly sobering up and “like a cucumber.”

How do you recover from anesthesia?

IN early period upon awakening the patient feels:

• Pain in the area postoperative wound. Usually it is felt 5-6 hours after the end of the operation. This is good and normal, it means alive.
• Sore throat. This is not fatal and is also absolutely normal. Everything goes away without treatment in 1-2 days! Infrequently, but there is irritation with the endotracheal tube, which is associated with or inconsistency in the size of the endotracheal tube (for women it is No. 7-8, for men No. 8-9-10). For children under 5 years of age, there are special tubes without an inflatable cuff. Although children are different, so everything is individual.
• Dizziness.
• Weakness.
• Chills. This is a violation of thermoregulation, drugs for anesthesia cause a decrease in body temperature, but today this is rare.
• Rarely nausea, even less often, even extremely rarely, vomiting. Nausea and vomiting often occur after operations on the abdominal cavity, stomach, and intestines. All these peculiarities of awakening are easily dealt with by anesthesiologists and resuscitators in the intensive care unit.

Special categories citizens: in persons suffering from alcoholism, drug use, in postoperative period Quite often there is agitation, aggressiveness, and an inadequate reaction to the environment. But these reactions are not directly related to anesthesia; it is rather a withdrawal syndrome! Can be docked quite easily sedatives And infusion therapy, as well as symptomatic treatment.

After surgery

When to get up after surgery? General rule - as early as possible! Don't linger! But of course, with the doctor's permission. Lying for a long time is fraught with the development of hypostatic pneumonia, acute thrombosis veins lower limbs, bedsores on the back, sacrum, heels.

A case is described: a young patient, 23 years old, practically healthy, after a routine uncomplicated appendectomy, lay on his bed and did not want to get up (he was in pain, you see). On the third day I finally got up. Result: thromboembolism pulmonary artery- instant death.

When can I return to normal work after anesthesia? The man after general anesthesia within two days he can perform normal work, work with complex mechanisms, requiring concentration, drive a car! But the operating surgeons discharge the patient after 7-8 days, when the stitches are removed and the wound has healed. You can drink after anesthesia when your reflexes are restored and there is no nausea or vomiting.

You can eat it the next day, the diet is gentle: you can’t eat spicy, salty, fried, canned food, sausages, or alcohol. The Pevzner diet is usually followed.

How do children recover after anesthesia?

When doctors work with young children, their own characteristics also arise:

• Anatomical, physiological and psychological (fear of the upcoming operation).
• Difficulty in contact with children under 3-4 years of age.
• Increased shyness in girls 8-10 years old.
• Underdevelopment of the respiratory system.
• Increased sensitivity to blood loss and overhydration.
• Imperfection of thermoregulation. Heat production lags behind heat transfer - the ratio is lower muscle mass to the surface of the body.

Children early age(up to 3 years) after intramuscular anesthesia with ketamine, which lasts 30-40 minutes, they wake up calmly after 1-4 hours.

Case from practice. I observed a 5-6 year old boy after intramuscular anesthesia with ketamine: when he recovered from anesthesia, in fact, his behavior was a little reminiscent of “the state of alcoholic intoxication in an adult” - he sat, tried to walk, talked a lot, had fun, laughed, sang songs, etc. Everything was easily stopped intramuscular injection seduxena. After 15 minutes his behavior became normal.

Did you quickly recover from anesthesia? Let's discuss and tell in the comments.

I created this project to in simple language tell you about anesthesia and anesthesia. If you received an answer to your question and the site was useful to you, I will be glad to receive support; it will help further develop the project and compensate for the costs of its maintenance.

Questions on the topic

Anya 04/18/2019 11:06

Hello! A couple of months ago I had surgery on my hand and for this I was given regional anesthesia for the entire right hand. After the operation I felt weakness in my arm, but then it went away. Now, 5 months later, sometimes in the morning I began to feel weakness in my arm, and only in this one. I have a fear that one day I will wake up with a limp arm and not be able to move it at all. Should I worry? Why does this happen? After an hour or two the hand becomes normal))

Yulia 03/14/2019 18:55

I asked you a question on 03/04/2019...remained unanswered. Let me ask differently, can my condition after surgery in early February 2019 to remove a brain tumor, namely spasms of cerebral vessels, provoke a deterioration during my upcoming surgery? She is due in a week, as a decompressive craniotomy was performed. Now it will be restored. I'm very worried

Aleksey 02/25/2019 22:54

Hello.\\\ Male. Age: 33 \\\ I am currently in the hospital, a couple of days ago I had proctological surgery. According to the surgeon, the operation lasted about 30 minutes. It all started with the fact that on the operating table they inserted a catheter under my elbow and started trying to administer the drug, because I know that the effect should be instantaneous, I was surprised because I didn’t feel anything at all. It turned out that something went wrong, sort of. They did not enter a vein, but bypass it. As a result, a second catheter was placed in my forearm, after which I passed out. I woke up about 7-8 hours after the operation in the ward with severe drowsiness, there were no other sensations. Somehow they say it to relatives and it worked until the morning. In the morning I woke up, nothing hurt, I didn’t want to have breakfast, but after a sip of water I felt nauseous, and I vomited lunch as soon as I ate it (this was already more than 24 hours after the end of the operation). By evening, the nausea disappeared, vomiting did not appear, and the condition stabilized. At the first scheduled examination on the third day, my surgeon explained how the matter was, saying, don’t worry, it happens. My questions are: is the situation really harmless and just bad luck? Can I request documents before or at the time of discharge that will indicate the quantity and medications used? What is the probability of indicating the situation that occurred there? Which correct tactics should there be behavior? It’s doubly offensive that the anesthesia was paid for out of pocket

Yulia 02/17/2019 15:43

Hello! A 5-year-old child was treated with sevoran for 5 teeth + 1 extraction. (An allergy to local anesthetics: ultracaine, scandonest, Ubistezin, Mepivacaine, Brilocaine), 1.5 years have passed and again he complains about his teeth. The examination showed: 2 teeth for treatment and 1 extraction. Doctors again recommend sevoran. As a mother, it really bothers me that to a small child They will do general anesthesia again. I would really like to hear the opinion of a resuscitator. It is clear that it is easier for the dentist to do everything at once when the baby is not excited, etc. But the child is growing, and one can only guess what harm annual anesthesia brings to his body. (blood samples taken showed class 1 IgE with results of just over 1). My request to repeat the allergy test, and based on its results, to try sedation, was refused. Only sevoran! Do we really have no other option? Which method is least harmful to the child?

Valentina 01/09/2019 20:56

Hello! The child is 3 years old. 5 months An adenomectomy and circumcision are planned for medical reasons (cicatricial phimosis). It is possible to do these operations simultaneously. Tell me whether it is still worth combining them or whether it is better to space them out over time. If we combine this, will the time the child is under anesthesia increase? If you do not do both operations at once, then after what period of time can you do the second? Thank you!

Oksana 08/16/2018 17:56

Good afternoon. I had several examinations (gastroscopy, colonoscopy) under sedation with propofol. And every time there were problems with waking up and recovering from anesthesia. Usually they can’t wake me up for 10-15 minutes, and then for 3-4 hours I feel dizzy and severe weakness. Moreover, the dose of propofol is standard. The pressure immediately after the procedure is usually low, but after half an hour it rises sharply to 160 to 110. I am 51 years old, BMI 21. Moreover, doctors are surprised every time by such a strange reaction, but no one can really say anything. I will soon have another procedure under sedation. Please tell me how to prevent or reduce such a reaction to anesthesia. Can you guess why this is happening?

Adela 07/30/2018 11:09

Good afternoon. Exactly three weeks ago, the child (girl, 4.5 years old) had her adenoids cut out. I had a very bad recovery from local anesthesia (through a mask) for a day. Then she seemed to go away, but after 3 weeks she began to complain several times a day that she was feeling nauseous and her heart was starting to beat quickly. Could this condition after anesthesia be related?

Alexandra 05/11/2018 11:46

Good afternoon I have never had any problems with anesthesia. I've been going to the same doctor my whole life. Today, an hour after the procedure, I felt that I was slightly nauseous, my hands were sweating and I had trouble concentrating. In general not big problem, but unpleasant. I would like to know if this is normal?

Dima 05/04/2018 01:32

Good afternoon. How harmful is anesthesia to muscles? I want to have rhinoplasty and choose anesthesia. I have Landouzy-Dejerineau myopathy. And if it’s not difficult, then question number 2) 2. What can be done to minimize harm to the muscles and prevent pain. Happy holiday!

Dmitry 03/29/2018 00:00

Hello! Mom is 57 years old; she underwent surgery to remove gallbladder, 3 weeks later we had an operation to remove the uterus and ovaries, I haven’t woken up for 7 hours after anesthesia, the doctors say that everything is fine. Tell me, is this normal? Thank you!

Marina 03/26/2018 22:25

Good day! My son (6 years old) was prescribed a planned Endoscopic Adenotomy under general anesthesia. Prescribed by a doctor from the clinic. When I went to the hospital with a referral, I was told that it was better to do local anesthesia. But at the same time they said if there were no otitis media, and unfortunately we have them every other time. Please tell me is general anesthesia dangerous? And is it still possible local anesthesia manage, despite frequent otitis? As they said at the hospital, under general anesthesia, working with a different instrument. And that for frequent otitis, general anesthesia is advisable, since they will clean up something somewhere. What can be the consequences after general anesthesia? And is it now masked or intravenous? Thanks in advance

Elena 02/24/2018 09:27

Hello. On December 14, surgery was performed for a hiatal hernia. 7 days later, on the day of discharge, I spent 2 hours at home, and then I was taken away by ambulance with acetone (I diabetes mellitus). And, if the first time it was “hungry acetone,” then the subsequent times, which is approximately every 4-10 days (intensive care unit), with normal nutrition and ideal sugar levels (on average 5.5). I was examined by a gastroenterologist, nephrologist, surgeon, infectious disease specialist... in general, my health according to their diseases is normal. The tests are normal. I read information on the Internet that acetone occurs after general anesthesia. Have you encountered this and what can be done? Add. information on the operation: "Anesthesia: TVA+IVL. HELP PLEASE!

Yana 02/16/2018 14:23

Good afternoon, my son is 8 years old, he had an operation a month ago (phimosis, testicular torsion). Before the operation, the anesthesiologist said that besides the fact that the child has a weak heartbeat, there are no contraindications to the operation, during the operation the doctor from the operating room called me and said that they had discovered a small dropsy that needs to be removed, the child was brought in an hour after he was taken for surgery, although all the children were brought in 20 minutes later, I came out of anesthesia for about an hour, was choking, woke up and passed out, my whole body was twitching, my husband and I could barely hold him together, a month passed after After surgery, the boy is very often dizzy, weak, they did a cardiogram, 56 beats, his heart is beating, WAS THIS A NORMAL REACTION TO ANESTHESIA, AND WHAT COULD CAUSE Dizziness, DOUBLE VISION? (thank you)

Nadezhda 02/08/2018 18:40

Hello, please tell me in what cases is a patient woken up after surgery with an endotracheal tube? I've had 4 general anesthetics (two laparoscopic surgeries) and it was only during the last one that I woke up with a tube and it felt like I couldn't breathe. I couldn’t move for a while; my hand wasn’t tied. Then I managed to point my hand at the mask with the tube, and it was taken out. When I woke up, I felt like I was suffocating.

Nadezhda 01/23/2018 15:39

Hello! Tell me please. I had a laparoscopy under general anesthesia for an ectopic pregnancy (tube removal), the operation lasted 50 minutes, I slept for 1.5 hours. After the operation, for some reason my heels hurt. And now they are numb. I remember that after another operation on bladder Under general anesthesia 10 years ago, one heel became numb, sensitivity was restored after 6 months. Please tell me what is causing the numbness? I am afraid of complications during subsequent operations. Sincerely, Nadezhda.

Alina 12/25/2017 18:59

Hello! Mom had surgery to remove her gallbladder on 12/21/17. Before the operation, he had low hemoglobin and low platelets, but they decided to have the operation. 5 days have passed, the operation went well, and general condition terrible. For the first 2 days, she lost consciousness, her pulse increased, tinnitus, dizziness, and her breathing became difficult, when the symptoms recurred more often and she was transferred to intensive care, where she breathed with the help of a machine. There they examined the blood vessels, the heart, did an MRI, urine and blood tests - in general they examined her, then she asked to be transferred to a ward and there it all started from the beginning, only there was no loss of consciousness, but symptoms: pulse, high blood pressure, dizziness and difficulty breathing remained. We are panicking whether these could be complications after anesthesia.

Marina 11/19/2017 23:13

Hello! Today I had a curettage done, under general anesthesia, I had a frozen pregnancy, from the anesthesia I woke up at 14.25 and in the evening at about 21.30 my arms began to go numb from elbow to hand, and I felt a little tension in calf muscles. Body temperature 37.4. Could this be a consequence of the anesthesia??? Please answer!

Vasilisa 11/18/2017 19:32

Hello! I am 40 years old. A month and a half ago I underwent curettage of a frozen pregnancy. And a week ago, another curettage of endometrial hyperplasia. Both times there was ketamine anesthesia, but the premedication the first time was sibazon, the second time promedol. So the first time waking up was soft. A week of headaches and insomnia was easily relieved with simple valerian. The second time was a nightmare. Delirium upon waking, panic attacks, breathing problems, this is probably how drug addicts feel when they overdose... The staff simply ignored me, I lay there all day. Now falling asleep is accompanied by fears and panic attacks. Could the difference in premedication have such an impact on the consequences? I have a history of “emotionality”)) Upon discharge, the doctor said that ketamine was simply not suitable for me. Is this possible?

Anna 10/30/2017 12:04

Good afternoon. I encountered the following situation after 2 general anesthesia. The first operation was for appendicitis, after 9 months the operation ( ectopic pregnancy). Now I don't recognize myself completely. Firstly, anxiety appeared, it arises on empty space. I have become aggressive, every word and situation is difficult for me, constant worries. Everything is getting worse every time. I went to a neurologist, but he didn’t help. I don’t know if it’s normal to feel like this. Besides, my head is constantly spinning. What do you recommend to do in this situation, where and who to contact.

Marina 10/13/2017 19:13

Good evening, 4 days ago I had an outpatient operation to remove fibroadenoma, the anesthesia was definitely not local, first they injected the drug into a vein, then I saw a mask in front of my eyes, then I woke up an hour later. The question is this: the first day I had a terrible sore throat (sore throat, cough), half an hour after the operation a runny nose began (vasoconstrictors help for a maximum of an hour), my eyes watered, I can’t look at the light, I’m sneezing, all this continues for the 4th day. I arrived for the operation completely healthy. Tell me, could this be an allergy to anesthesia?

Olga 09.10.2017 21:32

Is it possible to determine an anesthetic drug by metabolites in urine and blood 5 days after surgery? Are there similar tests, for example, in vitro? Propofol and fentanyl were allegedly administered. A terrible effect, no pain was felt, but like in hell, squeezing, spinning, fear of not getting out of the state, instead of sleep.

Inga 02.10.2017 17:51

Good afternoon. On September 2, there was an operation to remove a placental polyp. There was general anesthesia. After the anesthesia, I quickly came to my senses, my head hurt slightly. On the second day there was a bitterness in my mouth, then everything went away. After a week, my legs started to hurt a lot, namely stiffness, and then my arms too .the symptoms still persist, my legs hurt, but not always, but also blurred vision and a headache sometimes, could all this be a consequence of anesthesia?

Oksana 09.29.2017 16:52

Hello! I am 22 years old, a week ago I gave birth through a sectional section, epidural anesthesia was used, after the introduction of anesthesia right side I could feel my legs, they gave me general anesthesia, on the third day I began to notice that I couldn’t feel my heel and thumb right leg What could this be? Will it go away on its own or should I see a doctor? This was the second birth, the first was also through a CS and there were also 2 anesthesia (epidural and general), only the first time they managed to take the baby out, and after that sensitivity returned, that’s why they did general anesthesia!

Tatyana 08/26/2017 21:05

Good evening! The child is 3.9 years old and will undergo surgery to lower the testicle. I'm very afraid of mask anesthesia. The operation was said to last 30-40 minutes. We have a mastocytoma on our arm. Is anesthesia contraindicated in this case? Tell us how children often tolerate this type of anesthesia?

Mikhail 08/07/2017 15:07

Hello, 2 months ago I had a planned cholecystectomy - removal of the gallbladder under general anesthesia after the operation was very painful right shoulder after two months, the pain dulled but the problem did not go away, the neurologist said that these are the consequences of anesthesia, but this does not make me feel any better, what should I do? I can’t raise my hand above my head severe pain It’s impossible to hang from the forearm, what should I do........

Valentina 06/20/2017 07:07

Good afternoon. I tolerate anesthesia very poorly, I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t smoke, especially drugs, but when I had an operation (vacuum surgery to remove a frozen fetus), the nurse said that as soon as they injected me with anesthesia, it was as if a demon had possessed me. I don’t remember when I was transferred to the ward, but my roommates said that I cried a lot, screamed, and asked for the baby to be returned to me. Is this condition possibly related to the loss of a child? The previous time there was the same situation, also a frozen pregnancy and the same reaction to anesthesia.

Tamil 05/22/2017 12:44

Good afternoon 2 weeks ago I had surgery to remove an ectopic abdominal pregnancy. I am 25 years old. The operation lasted 1 hour 15 minutes. Lost 1.2 liters of blood. On the same day, a plasma transfusion was given. I felt good. And now dizziness, weakness, drowsiness. Hemoglabin is 105, blood pressure is normal. Tell me the probable reason.

Anastasia 05/12/2017 23:11

Hello, I had ovarian laparoscopic surgery in February under general anesthesia. 22 years old. I woke up not on the operating table, but in the intensive care unit already, n (I only remember when they woke me up, that I felt very nauseous). I woke up, shaking terribly, cold, very sick, could barely hold on, my eyes were watering, itching... and so on for 4-5 hours. The condition was terrible. But the worst thing began next. the day after the operation, I could not sleep; panic attacks began. As soon as I fall asleep, I am immediately thrown out of sleep, my heart is pounding, and I am afraid that I will not fall asleep. For two weeks after the operation I had trouble sleeping. I started taking sleeping pills. Tell me, is this my individual reaction to anesthesia or was I just unlucky with the anesthesiologist? And sleep problems can be caused by anesthesia? Another operation is planned, but I won’t survive coming out of anesthesia like that again.. thank you.

Sergey 04/29/2017 22:59

Hello! I had neurosurgical surgery for thoracic region. After the operation, on the 2nd or 3rd day I got up and started walking. Nothing hurt me except the wound! I was happy! It only didn't hurt for a day or two. Then everything below my chest started to hurt and continues to hurt to this day. Tell me, could general anesthesia relieve the pain for 3-4 days? Thanks in advance!

Svetlana 04/21/2017 10:32

Hello! A little over a week ago, an operation was performed under general anesthesia (septoplasty and bilateral conchotomy). I still have a temperature of 37.3, a sore throat, headache and severe weakness. Could this be a consequence of the anesthesia?

Alexander 04/09/2017 11:55

Hello! Based on the direction of a gastroenterologist, I make a diagnosis. Colon videoendoscopy. It is performed under anesthesia. After what shortest time can I drive? I live alone in the suburbs. Driving to and from the hospital on your own. I am 61 years old.

Stepan 03/12/2017 10:40

Hello! Please tell me, I had spinal anesthesia, after the operation I lay down for a day as expected, got up the next day and in the evening I started to have a headache and nausea, it’s been like this for 4 days, the nausea went away, but the headache remained, although less, tell me, will this condition go away?

09.03.2017 16:25

Nina, after a conventional appendectomy, if there were no complications during the operation by the surgeon, the overwhelming majority of patients live and lead a normal lifestyle the very next day, i.e. They walk, eat what they can, and after removing the stitches on the 5th-6th day, go home. To answer your question, it’s difficult to say anything without seeing you. You need to know how old you are, do you have concomitant diseases. Seek advice from a therapist.

Zarbazan 03/06/2017 12:01

hello, my 77-year-old mother was operated on to remove an intestinal tumor, after the operation she came to her senses, but on the third day her consciousness began to become confused, the doctors say “intoxication, weakness of the body, it will normalize over time,” it’s already the third day, so tell me how long the recovery period can last, can you help her somehow? best medicine from those treating doctors - communication with relatives???

Andrey 02/27/2017 17:08

Hello, exactly a month ago I had laparoscopic surgery under general anesthesia at 12 points. the Treitz ligament was simply shortened, I was in the hospital for 14 days, the temperature was 35.2 -35.9 and nothing particularly bothered me about the temperature, I didn’t pay attention, I thought the thermometers weren’t working<потом когда приехал домой через пару дней пошел прогуляться и началась слабость и боль в голове и сейчас это все беспокоит)при ходьбе слабость боль в голове легкое головокружение и температура до сих пор от35.2 до 35.9 держится,что это может быть(имею болячку сосудистаю энцелафопатию) это может она обострилась или что то иное и почему температура понижена?

27.02.2017 13:13

Oksana, after a long operation (2.5 hours), delayed awakening is possible. I don’t know what kind of anesthesia and drugs were used, but such a delayed awakening happens, it’s individual and in general it’s normal.

Nikolay 02/20/2017 16:55

Hello! On February 17, an operation was performed and two stents were inserted into the ureter. Spinal anesthesia was given, plus drops were given for light sleep. Immediately after the anesthesia, I lay under IVs and when I began to feel my legs, nothing hurt. The next morning I woke up, nothing hurt, and they put me on another IV. During the day I was already discharged from the hospital, and while driving, my back started to hurt. Then one evening my head started to hurt. And the very next morning I woke up with severe pain in my back and head. Especially if I get up I start to feel very dizzy. And my head still hurts. Tell me, is this a consequence of anesthesia? And how long can such symptoms last?

Alina 02/19/2017 16:48

Hello. After anesthesia (the appendix was removed), the lower lip became partially numb. More than a week has passed and the numbness does not go away. Should we panic?

Natalya 02/15/2017 06:57

Hello. My husband underwent surgery under general anesthesia in the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery to remove the mucus that had accumulated in his sinus. The second week has passed since the operation, and he says that he has lost all sensitivity. He feels no taste, no cold, no pain, does not feel the internal organs. As if the body was not his. Could this be the effects of anesthesia, and if so, how long will it take?

Masha 02/14/2017 14:02

Hello! My 5-year-old child had her teeth treated under propofol sedation. 5 teeth have been unable to stand on her feet for the fifth day and she hasn’t slept for four days, hasn’t eaten, she really complains that her legs and muscles hurt, is this all from the anesthesia? How long will it take her to recover from it?

Christina 02/09/2017 16:30

My daughter had heart surgery at 3.5 months, I don’t know how many hours it lasted. After the operation, she spent 3 days in intensive care, the outcome of the operation was poor. She was operated on again on her heart, and I also don’t know how many hours. After that, she spent a very long time in intensive care for 2 weeks. Then, within 2 weeks, there was another intervention; blood entered the pleural cavity. After some time, she stopped absorbing 10 mil in the intensive care unit. She could not digest the mixture. When she felt better, she was transferred to the ward, when they brought her in, her face was like a ball, she was twitching all over, blinking inappropriately. Half a year later we were operated on again only through probing and again under anesthesia. And half a year later we again had heart surgery. The operations were all open heart. And again, anesthesia. Right now she is 6 years old and she doesn’t speak. Are these the consequences of anesthesia??? Until 3 months she developed well.

Svetlana 01/31/2017 21:38

Hello! My daughter (15 years old) had a detailed endoscopy of her intestines. After the examination, when she came out of anesthesia, she tried to get up for a long time (for an hour), she was shivering, her limbs turned blue, her eyeballs seemed to be squeezed out, her head ached, and sounds echoed in her ears; for her they seemed sharp and unbearable. Of course, I prevented her from getting up, held her by the shoulders, and laid her down. As a result, her back and pectoral muscles ached later. She has surgery ahead of her. How can we correctly explain to the anesthesiologist what consequences we want to avoid when recovering from anesthesia? After all, some demand that their wishes be expressed in medical terminology.

Olga 01/23/2017 21:15

Hello! My mother (76 years old) underwent emergency surgery on her intestines (there was perforation of the small intestine). Now she has been unconscious for the 6th day, the doctors say that it is stupor, she does not come to her senses, at first she was on a ventilator, then they put a tracheostomy, she maintains the pressure on her own. How long can she remain unconscious and what are the chances of recovery?

Victoria 01/22/2017 14:14

Hello! I am thinking about surgery to eliminate diastasis. The surgeon suggested tracheal anesthesia (I’ll explain it more simply, I don’t know the terms). I’ve heard cases where it’s done under local anesthesia. My diastasis starts almost from the chest and ends in the navel, there are no hernias... Tell me, is it possible to use local anesthesia? Or will it work for me for such a length of diastasis? The diastasis itself, as the surgeon said, is one finger long. Thank you

Natalia 01/21/2017 15:15

Hello! In February 2016, she underwent surgery to remove veins in her right leg under spinal anesthesia. In the postoperative period, severe weakness was discovered in the right leg, pain in the sacrum on the right side, pain in the hip joint, right buttock and numbness (pins and needles) in the lower leg. During these months I took anti-inflammatory drugs, Neuromidin, injected Milgamma and many others. other. X-ray and MRI of the hip showed normal. After about 4-5 months there was an improvement. I have gained strength in my leg, I almost don’t feel the numbness in my lower leg, and the pain in my sacrum is no longer acute. But pain and numbness, a burning sensation in my right thigh and buttock still bother me greatly. Particularly worse after exercise (for example, fast walking or long walking). I have protrusions of L4/L5 and L5/S1 up to 0.3 cm. Before the operation, I sometimes felt heaviness in my back after a heavy load, but there was never pain in my leg. I visited many doctors. The neurosurgeon and traumatologist said that these could be consequences of anesthesia. But what to do next? Who should I contact for treatment?

Anastasia 01/20/2017 19:05

Good evening! I am 22 years old. And I have to undergo a knife biopsy under general short-term anesthesia (for gynecology). On the ECG I was diagnosed with: Severe sinus arrhythmia, heart rate 58-104 per 1". Tell me, is this a contraindication for general anesthesia?

Olga 01/06/2017 01:57

Hello! A planned operation on the left lung (removal of a tumor) is pending. As prescribed by the psychotherapist, I take Truxal 1/4 tablet (25 mg tablet). Tell me, is it possible to do general anesthesia while taking this drug?

Alexander B. 12/29/2016 21:48

NICHOLAS: “Alexander B, I read your comments and laugh. I am always amused by personalities like you who “understand” a topic and prove something...” - It’s good if you laugh: laughter prolongs life :) That’s why you should Don’t blame me, but thank me for making you laugh! You owe me “grandmother” for this, in short! . What are you talking about, sir??" - ABOUT WHAT, I already wrote in my “messages” to the anesthesiologist Danilov, if you read them! He, however, chose only to brush them aside and answered specifically only a private question about GABA and GHB. , - and for this explanation I already thanked him! But the essence of the problem, which I asked about in general, Sergei Evgenievich basically refused to admit, which rather amazed me, to put it mildly!.. “You look funny - the other doctor seems to me to be just you.” will send, excuse me, I just couldn’t help but speak out..." - Well, it’s not my fault that we have such doctors in the Russian Federation!: ("For example, I was very lucky with the anesthesiologist after the operation - I woke up as I needed to operating room, for which I am grateful to the anesthesiologist and surgeon." - How lucky YOU personally are, just as really unlucky are thousands and thousands of other patients, adults and children, who suffer every day in our country from the consequences of truly monstrous anesthesia given by other anesthesiologists!:(A Unlike you, I don’t only think about myself!.. Now, if you, Nikolai, like many other poor fellows, during your operation, flew for an hour through endless pipes, contemplated the walls “a la the Matrix-Revolution” in 3D, you would feel like a mindless molecule in them, or a computer microchip, or a pencil case speaking foreign languages ​​(this happens with ketamine!), and then all day long you would catch wild glitches in the process of an outrageously long “recovery”, painfully remembering your name, not recognizing point-blank the people closest to you and learning to speak Russian again, you would be shocked and twitch, breaking the bed under you, and vomit everything around you in the world, suffering at the same time from unbearable thirst... - in short, all possible “charms” "there are countless modern anesthesia - then it’s unlikely, our funny one, that you would remain such a cheerful fellow and would understand well what I was asking here!!!:(((But if you want to talk seriously about this topic, it’s better for us not clutter this forum with our disputes. - Let me tell you my e-mail here and we will discuss everything privately! ?

Nikolay 12/29/2016 09:23

Alexander B, I read your comments and laugh. I am always amused by individuals like you who “know” a topic and prove something... Doctors’ jobs are difficult and low-paid. Here the doctor has taken on the thankless burden of answering questions online, and here is his “gratitude” from people like you. An ordinary man in the street arrogantly argues for the “regression” of medicine. What are you talking about, sir?? You look funny - it seems to me that another doctor will simply send you away, sorry, I just couldn’t help but speak out. For example, I was very lucky with the anesthesiologist after the operation - I woke up as needed in the operating room, for which I am grateful to the anesthesiologist and surgeon. Thank you Sergei Evgenievich for your help to people. Good luck to you in your difficult medical work.

Tatyana 12/29/2016 05:55

Good afternoon. The child's lower extreme tooth was treated. After anesthesia, the mouth cannot open and the cheek is swollen. The doctor advised me to develop it. 7 days have passed, no changes. Please advise what can be done? Or see a doctor.

Alexander B. 12/27/2016 21:39

Yes, thank you: the futility of talking specifically with you also became clear to me: (I won’t pester you anymore. You popularly explained that I am just another idiot and a rude ignorant who has read “passions” on the Internet and slandered “from someone else’s voice” to the sunny Russian reality - what kind of useful dialogue can there be?.. I’ll look for some other specialists, maybe they can explain something useful to me!? I apologize if I forced you to swallow a sedative - I really didn’t want to cause so much trouble. such a distinguished specialist!..:)

Alexander B. 12/27/2016 02:34

I apologize for the harsh emotions, but fighting with your questions as if against a wall is not a pleasant task! NOT APPLICABLE, read at least one textbook on anesthesiology or contact any anesthesiologist..." But if you are right, and GABA could not be used as a tranquilizer with ketamine, then it means that those elderly doctors from the Morozov Hospital in Moscow who are idiots This is how they deciphered for me a few years ago an entry from an operational log from 1989! I immediately wrote down after them: “gammaAMINObutyric acid”; “If you have any other questions, please ask, but, if possible, briefly and clearly.” “In any case,” they injected me with GHB or GABA along with ketamine and droperidol, “the essence of the problem is that From such anesthesia, I and other children had absolutely NO delirium and other terrible side effects that often happen from modern anesthesia, so I ask the question: WHY?! What’s stopping you from doing such anesthesia now and not causing a “nightmare” for patients?:(((“We created this project to answer questions about anesthesia and anesthesia, but not to discuss with patients...” - Well, this is from the series: “State Duma - not a place for discussions! veterinarians their patients!?:(((

Victor 12/23/2016 13:10

Good afternoon I am being offered surgery to remove a tumor in the left lower lobe lung. Malignancy has not yet been proven; cytology is negative. I understand that everyone has risks before any operation. But I would like to clarify with you whether I should agree to the operation? I'm afraid to go under the knife and end up there. I have hypertension, grade 3, risk 4. IHD. Stable angina FC 2/myocardial infarction in 1998. Complications: H1 FC 2. Atherosclerosis of the aorta

Alexander B. 12/21/2016 02:47

Anesthesiologist Danilov writes: “Your question is one of the series that “before the water was wetter and the grass was greener”...” - Well, okay, then answer the SPECIFIC question about the drugs GABA and GHB, please: which of them is it? in your opinion, in 1989 I was then injected intravenously during eye surgery along with ketamine!? Since you have 35 years of experience, you should be aware of the anesthesiological practice of that time... I think that the doctors from that hospital did not lie to me, and GABA was still used - after all, it is essentially a tranquilizer, and a natural one at that; just right for stopping the negative properties of ketamine!.. And GHB, this gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, is generally a drug that is widely sold in nightclubs, with intoxicating and stimulating properties: mixing it with ketamine is like pouring gasoline on a fire, only it should make it worse maybe, I think!:(All the side effects of GHB such as euphoria, disinhibition, nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, psychomotor agitation, amnesia, etc., were completely absent for me and other neighbors in the ward, as I already said... But I judge as an amateur, so I’m asking for your authoritative opinion! :) “Alexander, you’ve read a lot of unnecessary stuff on the Internet...” - Okay, let’s say I’ve read too much: but then, as a specialist, advise me WHAT should I read on this topic? Your article above, for example, came out very complacent: just one Turkish Delight! if he sang and laughed after anesthesia, maybe he himself was so cheerful in life!? For some reason you calmed him down with seduxen, depriving the child of a happy childhood!..:))) It’s good, of course, if you care so much about your patients; But what about the patients of other anesthesiologists - many other boys and girls who, after anesthesia, are not at all laughing!? Who, when recovering, do not laugh or sing, but cry in horror, fight in hysterics, violently rave, hallucinate, do not recognize their parents and sometimes do not even remember their own name!?: (And besides, neither doctors nor nurses come to their aid and They don’t care about their condition in any way, considering all this “normal”! many people write so many negative reviews about the horrors of modern anesthesia!? Is this all just another conspiracy of CIA spies to discredit the bright image of our Russian medicine among the masses! ?:((("...On a medical topic, in general, you should read less on the Internet, any doctor will tell you that." - What, you shouldn’t even read the reviews and notes of your colleagues in the profession, such as the “Russian Anesthesiology Forum”!? All of them are also spies, saboteurs and in a conspiracy against our healthcare!?.. What a horror!:))) Well then, there really is nothing to be surprised at the quality of their anesthesia! , which you are describing..." - Sorry, but did I really cite any STATISTICS here!? I didn’t collect any statistics; but since we’re talking about it, just offhand, 80-90% of the reviews on ANY site about anesthesia are purely negative, with a story about long and painful “retreats” Well, there are just slanderers and spies everywhere, don’t you think?..:(

Alexander B. 12/18/2016 01:05

Mercy to the anesthesiologist Danilov, that he, with his characteristic delicacy, so aptly convicted me of ignorance and showed me my true place...:) And although the respected author is not inclined to discuss with me, he still asked me a couple of personal questions, to which I like a polite person should answer: “First of all, please tell me if you have a medical education and where did you get such data about “otkhodnyak” and other matters...” - I have no education, but I have common sense to compare my PERSONAL experience with the stories of friends and what people write on forums on the Internet! “Secondly, not GABA, but GHB...” - Well, here I’m throwing up my hands: the truth is that there is both, with similar properties, and both substances can be used in anesthesia! Here I quote from Wikipedia: “Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB, 4-hydroxybutanoic acid) is a natural hydroxy acid that plays an important role in the human central nervous system, and is also found in wine, citrus fruits, etc. Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid can be used as an anesthetic and a sedative, but in many countries it is illegal..." And here's about GABA: "Gamma-aminobutyric acid γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA, GABA) is an amino acid, the most important inhibitory neurotransmitter of the central nervous system of humans and other mammals... “That in my case it was gamma-AMINObutyric acid (GABA) and not gamma-OXYbutyric acid (GHB) that was used together with ketamine, I did not invent it myself: this is how the surgeons of the hospital where the operation performed the operation deciphered it to me many years later! - If they confused one with the other, then it is on their conscience: ("GHB and Droperidol are widely used all over the world, and not because they are cheap, but because they are effective..." - Well, what is stopping you from doing with them do we have anesthesia in the Russian Federation?:("And another question - how do you know about “rubbish ketamine”?..” - You’re just killing me with your questions: how do you know that under clothes everyone is naked, etc.? !:(Not only the majority of patients, but also many of your fellow anesthesiologists speak this way about ketamine; well, as I already wrote, I experienced its effects on myself!.. “In order to draw such conclusions, it’s worth at least going to study for 6 years at the medical academy, then undergo 2 years of specialization as an anesthesiologist, then at least work for 3 years, while constantly being “in the know,” i.e., studying new products and communicating with more experienced colleagues, improving your qualifications at least every 5 years..." - Like Voinovich in “Shapka” I will answer: to find out that food is rotten, all I have to do is sniff it once, or, in extreme cases, bite it, but I don’t need to eat it whole in order to end up with your colleagues in intensive care with poisoning! :) “And your question contains more emotions, reviews from friends, people from the Internet, not supported by specific facts...” - Well, the impressions of specific people are not facts? “Now there are a lot of qualified specialists, modern drugs and equipment, believe me...” - Well, all the more the question remains: why are current anesthesia in Russia so “senseless and merciless” in relation to patients??? I came to you seriously, and not for the sake of ridicule! If a respected specialist with 35 years of experience is uncomfortable discussing this topic here publicly on a forum, maybe he will agree to do it privately, by e-mail? :)

Yulich 12/17/2016 16:48

Hello, please tell me that my grandmother had an operation, a joint was inserted, there was a fracture of the femoral neck, two days have passed as of today, I know now something is happening in her head, that she says at first everything is fine, then she starts saying something wrong, she is in a very excited state, she wants to get up, she saw something being injected in the intensive care unit with sodium. What could this be and will my head return to normal?

Elena 12/17/2016 10:52

Hello, . Mom is 69 years old, has angina pectoris and hypertension. There was an emergency operation for a ventral abdominal hernia. Abdominal, under general anesthesia. It's day 4 now. He constantly drinks Betaloc 100 and trimetazidine. Pulse is high up to 100 beats. The pressure is jumping. Doctors don't even see a reason for an ECG. There are no indications, but they have reports. Can you, as an anesthesiologist, answer - are there any reasons for concern? What needs to be done? Thank you

Alexander B. 12/16/2016 00:03

But I want to ask anesthesiologist Danilov a question for “backfilling”: (Why in recent years have I been reading and hearing a lot of people’s stories about absolutely terrible, long recovery periods with a bunch of “side effects” even after short and simple operations, when patients behave like complete idiots , psychos, drug addicts or drunks in an attack of delirium tremens!? And the majority are not even surprised by this, as a matter of course; and anesthesiologists answer us, saying, “this is normal,” - WHAT IS NORMAL HERE!? !.. So the author of the article writes here: “I observed a boy 5-6 years old after intramuscular anesthesia with ketamine: when he recovered from anesthesia, he was essentially just drunk...” - But I observed it in one of the Moscow hospitals back in 1989, at least a dozen different school-age boys were recovering from intravenous ketamine anesthesia after eye surgery, and I myself was among them: however, none of us were drunk, either in essence or in form!:(Ketamine was administered to us not outright, but in combination with droperidol and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which neutralized the glitchy nature of this now widely reviled drug. So EXTERNALLY, the recovery from this anesthesia was generally harmless - at first, after the operation, everyone simply lay unconscious for 1-2 hours, then they began to moan quietly and move slightly in bed, but this lasted only a matter of minutes, and not hours or days! And then they came to a clear consciousness, without any side effects... True, during the administration of anesthesia and coming to consciousness there were quite unpleasant sensations that scared me out of habit, but all this is heaven and earth in comparison with what many people now they tell!!! At least, I personally didn’t experience any nightmares, glitches, flying through pipes, labyrinths and tunnels, feelings of “loss of personality” and other creepy psychedelics. And not only me, but NOBODY during the “recovery” did not rave, did not glitch, did not yell, did not cry, did not swear, did not shake, did not hiccup, did not chatter in vain, did not call mom and dad, did not vomit, did not twitch, anywhere didn’t rush, didn’t kick, didn’t piss on himself and didn’t take a shit (however, that nurse took care of this in advance, who gave everyone a huge enema before the operation :))... Even THIRSTY, as I remember, and even then no one had a special one after There was no such anesthesia! And in the future I did not experience any “side effects” such as memory loss, drowsiness, headaches or panic fears either in the hospital or later - I continued to study normally... Moreover, I know very well that ketamine is such rubbish, and GABA with droperidol are simple, cheap drugs. However, in the disintegrating USSR they somehow knew how to combine them into quite good, patient-friendly anesthesia, and in today’s Russia, anesthesia for both children and adults is just a complete “Nightmare on Elm Street”!:(((What do we owe to such a cool " progress of medicine" in our country: have the drugs gotten worse or have the doctors gotten worse?

Julia 12/15/2016 21:54

Hello, my 5-year-old son had surgery today to remove phimosis under general anesthesia at nine in the morning, then after the operation he was taken to intensive care, two hours later, i.e. at 11 o'clock, they brought him to the ward, 20 minutes later he vomited and 11 hours have passed and he still vomits every time he drinks water, they gave him an anti-emetic injection and still vomits, is this normal or not?

Vyacheslav 12/15/2016 12:29

Good day! Soon I will have a minor operation on the back of my head (removal of atheroma) and it will be performed under local anesthesia. The question is: does local anesthesia somehow affect the nervous system? All the same, the drug will be injected into the head. The question is interesting because I will be getting home by car, I would not want to become the culprit of an accident due to a delayed reaction, or something like that. When the gums are anesthetized, a certain general inhibition is felt.

Hello! My son, age 2 years 8 months, underwent surgery to remove an additional appendage of the auricle. Within a month after the operation, the child has a feeling of nasal congestion, but there is no nasal discharge, and a whistling sound is made when breathing. After the operation, he was very sick, with a runny nose and cough. Could nasal congestion be related to anesthesia or is it an untreated runny nose? Thank you very much in advance!

Victor 06.12.2016 21:03

Hello, my wife had an operation (hemorrhoids) using spinal anesthesia, after which she had headaches, drowsiness, etc. for several days. The surgeon warned about all these symptoms. But after 6 days, a seizure attack occurred, and it started from the right arm and spread to the whole body, lasting several minutes, with partial loss of consciousness. Such attacks had never happened before, but only in early childhood (up to 1 year). Could this be a side effect of the anesthesia? Thank you

24.10.2016 14:49

Good afternoon Tell me, after conduction anesthesia (osteosynthesis, double ankle fracture), the big toe seems to be shooting. You can feel the nerve. When I put my foot on the floor, it was as if I had stepped on a sharp pebble. Two weeks have passed since the operation. Will this pass? Thanks in advance for your answer

Mprina 10/22/2016 11:36

Hello. The plate was removed from the tibia and spinal anesthesia was administered. The first injection did not give the desired reaction, after 30 minutes the injection was repeated. After the operation, I stayed for a day as recommended. But in the following days, severe pain developed in the back, neck, shoulders, the headache began to ache more and more: 4 days have passed, and the headache is only getting worse. Nausea was added, and on the third day it became difficult to hear in one ear, the left one. The ENT examined, there are no plugs, no inflammation. Are these all the consequences of anesthesia?? How to treat the ear? I'm very worried..35 years old. Marina

View the anesthesiologist's answer

Hello. I had general anesthesia of the 1st degree to remove polyps in the uterus, after the operation an hour later I was allowed to go home since I was not local, I had to travel 4 hours to get home. 4-5 hours after the operation, my gaze was directed only upward, later my back began to wedge to the right side. After the operation, I did not rest, I was very sleepy, at the station I tried to take a nap, my head was turned to the right. It could be intoxication from anesthesia. Now I’m in the hospital, they brought me by ambulance, I slept and all the symptoms went away. I had an X-ray of the cervical spine (no results yet), an ECG, and a cop. Tamography (everything is in order).

Vyacheslav 10.20.2016 10:30

I am afraid that during the operation I will have chills, which I sometimes have even without surgery. Then I cover myself with three blankets and he passes. how to do this on the operating table under local anesthesia?

Maxim 10/18/2016 09:04

After surgery on a perforated duodenal ulcer, I completely lost the desire to drink. I think it’s because of the anesthesia. I haven’t drank for 6 years. Now I’m drinking again. What drug should I take to stop drinking again?

Daria 10/12/2016 23:32

Hello. Previously, I asked a question about the use of general anesthesia; I have type 1 diabetes with concomitant diseases on insulin injections. Now I’m visiting doctors, taking tests for hospitalization for surgery for endometrial hyperplasia. In the blood test I took, my hemoglobin was greatly reduced. The gynecologist told me to take medications that increase hemoglobin, ferlatum, 1 bottle 2 times a day or sorbifer. Surgery to remove endometrial hyperplasia is expected to take place in early November. But I have doubts about low hemoglobin, which can possibly be raised with medications in 2 weeks, but should there be a longer period of keeping hemoglobin at a normal level for surgery than 2 weeks? I don’t know whether to postpone the operation for another month due to low hemoglobin or not, I have had constant tolerable abdominal pain in gynecology with periodic discharge for several months now. Among the diseases accompanying diabetes, I have hypochromic anemia, hypotension, and chronic pyelonephritis, thyroiditis, and hypothyroidism.

Victoria 10.10.2016 16:33

Hello, on Friday I had a uterine cleansing due to anembryonia. I don’t know what kind of anesthesia was administered, but when administered, everything started to burn in my throat. Coming out of anesthesia was long and difficult, I had hallucinations, felt sick, felt dizzy, and vomited (even though I didn’t eat anything in the morning). And then on Sunday the problems started, temp 37, bad in the head, when moving the eyes from side to side, nausea comes, with sudden movements it gets dark in the eyes, weakness, drowsiness, a little headache and sometimes pain in the eyes (rarely). Before the operation (from Thursday) they started injecting the antibiotic lincomycin. Now I’m still in the hospital, the doctor doesn’t really say anything, doesn’t know the reasons for my condition. Tell me, could my condition be due to anesthesia?

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Three days ago, a laparoscopy was performed to remove an ectopic pregnancy (tubal). We performed a combination of anesthesia: spinal and general anesthesia. On the third day, pain in the lower back is noted after walking. When you lie down on your back, the pain goes away. What does this mean? Thank you!!!

Irina 05/03/2016 23:01

After the appendicitis operation, the doctor and anesthesiologist told me to consult with an ENT doctor, because... you couldn’t intubate. I don’t really understand what that means. I realized that they couldn’t insert the tube into the larynx. But how could I breathe myself? And what could be the reasons? Thank you!

Mikhnina A.A.

With the development of modern society, the advent of high technologies and their penetration, in particular, into medicine, it has become popular to demand from medical procedures not only relief from illness, but also a minimum of discomfort during their implementation. To eliminate pain and psychological stress associated with its anticipation, modern medicine is ready to offer us the use of anesthesia in a variety of forms - from simple local anesthesia to deep medicated sleep (anesthesia). When performing extensive operations to treat serious diseases, the need for anesthesia is obvious.

However, there are other situations: we want to give birth without pain, to treat our teeth without fear, and to improve our appearance without discomfort. However, there are no absolutely safe medical interventions and medications.

And here it is very important to weigh the risk against the actual need. In addition to the risk of complications from the medical procedure itself or exacerbation of the disease due to intervention in the body, it is also necessary not to forget about the existing risk of adverse consequences from anesthesia. It is especially important to remember this when it comes to our children, for whom we, the parents, make decisions regarding their health.

Just recently, on a parent forum, I read a message from a mother who had her 1.5-year-old child undergo surgery to cut the hyoid frenulum under general anesthesia. To be honest, I was somewhat discouraged by such frivolity - anesthesia for a child, since, in my opinion, there is absolutely no need for anesthesia for such a low-traumatic and quick procedure. This is the same as donating blood from your finger under anesthesia! Does this occur to you? At the same time, many participants in the discussion on this forum also did not see anything wrong in the described situation.

Actually, this incident served as the reason for conducting some research into the issue of the dangers of anesthesia. I began to wonder if it is as terrible and dangerous in its consequences as one sometimes hears. Can anesthesia seriously harm a child?

For help in writing this note, I turned to specialists: a surgeon of the highest category, Doctor of Medical Sciences, professor, employee of the Oncology Research Institute. prof. N.N. Petrova Mikhnin A.E. and a doctor anesthesiologist-resuscitator of the highest category, employee of the neonatal intensive care unit of children's city hospital No. 1 in St. Petersburg, Naumov D.Yu.

What is anesthesia, and why is it necessary?
Anesthesia can be local or general. In the second case, it is customary to talk about anesthesia. With local anesthesia, the drug is injected into the tissue directly in the area of ​​medical intervention or into the nerve endings responsible for conducting pain impulses from this area and adjacent (sometimes large) areas to the brain. However, it does not have a significant effect on the body as a whole (with the exception of a dangerous case of an allergic reaction to an analgesic). This is how we treat teeth, remove papillomas, and do piercings. Epidural or spinal anesthesia used during childbirth is also local.

General anesthesia (general anesthesia, anesthesia) is a condition induced using pharmacological agents and characterized by a controlled shutdown of consciousness and loss of sensitivity, suppression of reflex functions and reactions to external stimuli, which allows surgical interventions to be performed without dangerous consequences for the body and with complete amnesia for the period operations. The term “general anesthesia” more fully than the term “anesthesia” reflects the essence of the state that must be achieved to safely perform a surgical operation. The main thing is to eliminate the reaction to painful stimuli, and depression of consciousness is of less importance. (The common everyday expression “general anesthesia” is incorrect; the equivalent is “oil”).

Mikhnin Alexander Evgenievich:“Exactly. The main task of general anesthesia is to prevent such a dangerous state of the body as painful shock, which can lead to death. It is important to provide high-quality anesthesia to the patient, while he may be conscious (depending on the type of operation performed). This effect is achieved, for example, with epidural anesthesia. Another important goal of anesthesia is complete relaxation of the muscles, facilitating access to the internal organs.”

In a situation where we are talking about treating a child, the goals of using anesthesia often change priority, and the need to turn off consciousness and immobilize a small patient may come to the fore.

Mikhnin Alexander Evgenievich:“It’s all true. But, nevertheless, there is an important rule based on common sense, which I, as a surgeon, always adhere to in relation to both adults and very young patients. Its essence is that the danger of anesthesia should not exceed the risk of the medical manipulation for which the patient is given anesthesia.”

There is an opinion that anesthesia shortens life. However, I read a lot of materials on the websites of medical clinics that drugs for general anesthesia and the technologies for their introduction into the body have changed significantly over the long period of their practical use (ether anesthesia was first used in 1846). During clinical trials, new drugs were developed, and anesthesia has now become practically safe. What should you still be wary of during general anesthesia?

Naumov Dmitry Yurievich:“Anesthesia itself, of course, does not shorten life. Otherwise, many of the patients I know would have already died from its consequences, being cured of the underlying disease and actually healthy people. The danger of anesthesia really lies, on the one hand, in the toxicity of the drugs used, which was especially important at the dawn of the era of drug anesthesia, when a wide variety of substances were used, including those dangerous for their long-term effects, the required level of analgesia and relaxation of the body was achieved due to the prolonged maintenance of highly toxic doses of the drug in the patient’s blood, and on the other hand, the risks are determined by the level of qualifications of the anesthesiologist.

Most of the negative consequences of anesthesia are associated precisely with the human factor: firstly and mainly, with the characteristics of the patient’s body, which can give an unexpected reaction, and you need to be prepared to cope with it; secondly, with the qualifications of the anesthesiologist himself, when he does not fully master modern technologies of combined anesthesia, did not keep track of some vital parameters of the patient’s body under anesthesia or did not take the necessary measures in time to maintain them and correct the patient’s condition, did not notice in a timely manner an allergy to some medication being used (this, of course, is criminal extremes).

Today, modern drugs that have no long-term effects and are quickly eliminated from the body (for example, sevofluoran, remifentanil) are used for general anesthesia. Anesthesia is carried out by a combination of various substances and methods of their administration: intravenously, intramuscularly, inhalation, rectally, transnasally. The combined use of two or more drugs is carried out in order to reduce the dose, and, consequently, the toxicity of each of them, to provide all the necessary components of anesthesia using agents with selective properties without profound disruption of the functions of the central nervous system.

Still, we must not forget that even the safest drugs for providing anesthesia have a certain toxicity to the body. It’s no coincidence that anesthesia is also called a medical coma.”

This means that there may still be some consequences from the use of anesthesia, even a modern one and carried out efficiently by a competent and experienced anesthesiologist, just like from any medical procedure. What are they, and what is the probability of getting one or another complication?

Naumov Dmitry Yurievich: “There are respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological complications of anesthesia, as well as anaphylactic shock.
Respiratory complications include cessation of breathing during the procedure of general anesthesia (apnea) or after recovery from anesthesia after the patient’s breathing has been completely restored (recurarization), bronchiolospasm, laryngospasm.
The causes of this type of complications are varied: from mechanical injuries during the general anesthesia procedure (trauma with a laryngoscope, rough intubation, ingress of various dust, foreign bodies and vomit into the respiratory tract, etc.) to an individual reaction to drugs and the general serious condition of the patient . There is an increased risk of such complications in people suffering from diseases of the respiratory system. Thus, bronchiolospasm (total or partial) can occur in patients with tumors of the bronchi and lungs, bronchial asthma and those prone to allergic reactions. Laryngospasm often develops when secretions accumulate in the larynx, in particular in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. (author's note - The frequency of such complications averages 25% (mainly as a result of regurgitation of gastric contents)(1)).
Cardiovascular complications include arrhythmias, bradycardia, and cardiac arrest. Most often, they occur due to inadequate administration of general anesthesia (overdose of certain drugs), insufficiently prompt elimination of signs of hypoxia, untimely or ineffective resuscitation measures carried out to correct the consequences of a surgical operation performed on the patient (severe irritation of reflexogenic zones, massive blood loss, etc.) .
A risk factor here is also the patient’s history of cardiovascular diseases. The average incidence of such complications is 1:200 cases in the risk group.
Neurological complications include convulsions, muscle pain, trembling upon awakening, hyperthermia, regurgitation, vomiting. The causes of this type of complications are also a reaction to various medications used during surgery, concomitant diseases of the central nervous system (brain tumor, epilepsy, meningitis), and inadequate preoperative preparation. There is a category of patients who have such an unpleasant and dangerous phenomenon during anesthesia as vomiting, which can lead to clogging of the respiratory tract, bronchospasm and impaired ventilation of the lungs and hypoxia during surgery, as well as pneumonia in the postoperative period, occurs without any visible reasons.
An extremely dangerous complication during operations performed both under anesthesia and local anesthesia is anaphylactic shock, which is an individual allergic reaction of the body to medications, manifested by a sharp sudden decrease in blood pressure, disruption of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The allergen can be both the narcotic drugs themselves and the drugs and solutions used during surgery. Often this complication ends in death, because An anaphylactic reaction is difficult and difficult to treat; the basis of therapy is hormonal drugs. (author's note - The average incidence of such complications is 1:10,000 cases. (2))
To exclude the possibility of such a reaction of the body, the anesthesiologist must very carefully study the patient’s medical history and information about the presence of allergic reactions to medications, in particular to various anesthetics, in order to prevent their use. It is extremely important in this case that the patient himself provides reliable and complete information about himself when answering questions asked by doctors.
It is also important to note that anesthesia affects memory. During severe anesthesia, brain function related to memory deteriorates. Sometimes irreversible."

Mikhnin Alexander Evgenievich: “To carry out the operation as safely as possible and minimize the risks associated with putting the patient under anesthesia, high-quality preoperative preparation of the patient is very important, including correction of disturbances in the functioning of various body systems, relieving exacerbations of chronic diseases, adherence to diet and rest on the eve of the operation. In particular, 4-6 hours before surgery, under anesthesia, the intake of food and liquids is prohibited to eliminate the risk of vomiting. Compliance with the latter requirement largely lies on the conscience of the patient, and he must understand the seriousness of the possible consequences of its violation. Preparation for surgery can take from 1 day. up to 1-2 weeks.”

Which of the following complications can most often occur in children during anesthesia? Are there any peculiarities here in comparison with adult patients?

Naumov Dmitry Yurievich: “The specifics of the use of general anesthesia in children are associated with the characteristics of the child’s body. Thus, newborns have reduced sensitivity to certain narcotic substances, so their concentration in the blood is sometimes required to be 30% higher compared to adult patients. This increases the likelihood of overdose and respiratory depression, and as a consequence of hypoxia. There are a number of drugs that are never used during anesthesia for children.
Oxygen is an integral part of any inhalational anesthesia. However, it is now well known that in premature infants, hyperoxygenation (use of 100% oxygen) can lead to severe vasoconstriction of the vessels of the immature retina, causing retrolental fibroplasia and blindness. In the central nervous system, it leads to disruption of thermoregulation and mental functions, and convulsive syndrome. In the lungs, hyperoxia causes inflammation of the airway mucosa and destruction of surfactant. The anesthesiologist must know and take into account all these features.
In childhood, the thermoregulation system is imperfect, so special attention must be paid to maintaining a constant body temperature and avoiding both hypothermia and overheating, which can lead to a very life-threatening complication - hyperthermia (the frequency of this complication is rare, approximately 1: 100,000 cases, the more dangerous it is if it suddenly arises. Usually anesthesiologists are not prepared to face such a problem, because they have not usually encountered it in their entire practice). Also, specific complications of general anesthesia in children include convulsions, the development of which may be associated with hypocalcemia, hypoxia, as well as subglottic laryngeal edema. In the presence of various chronic diseases, the likelihood of certain complications of anesthesia in children, as well as in adults, increases depending on the characteristics of these concomitant diseases. Everything is individual here.”

Mikhnin Alexander Evgenievich: “For elderly and pediatric patients, preparation for surgery under anesthesia must necessarily include a psychological component and complete relief of preoperative emotional stress. In such patients, the nervous system is unstable, and there is a high degree of psychogenic neurological disorders, which can cause complications of general anesthesia from both the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system. The constant presence and psychological support of close relatives for elderly patients and parents for child patients in the period of preparation for surgery and immediately before the administration of anesthesia is very important.”

Thus, modern anesthesia is minimally toxic, highly effective and quite safe if it is performed by an experienced anesthesiologist. It can be performed many times without harming the patient's health, unless any complications arise. The likelihood of them in modernly equipped clinics with highly qualified staff is not so high. However, there is always room for risk associated with the individual characteristics of each person, as well as the insufficient qualifications of the anesthesiologist, on whom the vital functions of the patient’s body completely depend during an operation under anesthesia.

I’ll quote here from one very sensible resource onarkoze.ru: “What is the probability of death from anesthesia in the Russian Federation? It is impossible to give a definite answer to this question due to the lack of any plausible statistics. In our country, all facts of death on the operating table are carefully kept silent and hidden.”

By putting your child into a state of medicated sleep, you completely entrust his life to the anesthesiologist.

One of my friends, a cosmetologist at a prestigious aesthetic medicine clinic, who often has to deal with people who give priority to their appearance, and therefore often resort to the services of plastic surgeons, once said that even though she herself is an adherent of the cult beauty, deeply does not understand such a frivolous readiness of people to plunge into anesthesia without vital indications. After all, there is always the possibility of not getting out of it and dying. Moreover, she determined for herself this probability of 50/50, which, of course, from a statistical point of view is an exaggeration, but from the point of view of the common sense of each of us, perhaps not. After all, life is the most valuable thing. Whether it is worth risking it without obvious necessity, even if the chance of death is one in a million, everyone decides for himself.

Links:
1. Levichev Eduard Aleksandrovich, dissertation for the degree of Ph.D. in the specialty "Anesthesiology and Reanimatology" on the topic "Prevention of regurgitation and aspiration during general anesthesia in emergency patients", 2006 - p. 137
2. Vladimir Kochkin, “Mom and Baby” magazine, No. 2, 2006

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116 thoughts on “Anesthesia for a child”

Many medical procedures are so painful that even an adult, much less a child, cannot endure them without anesthesia. Pain, as well as fear associated with surgery, is a very serious stress for the baby. Thus, even a simple medical procedure can cause neurotic disorders such as urinary incontinence, sleep disturbances, nightmares, nervous tics, and stuttering. Painful shock can even cause death.

The use of painkillers helps to avoid discomfort and reduce stress from medical procedures. Anesthesia can be local - in this case, an anesthetic drug is injected into the tissue directly around the affected organ. In addition, the anesthesiologist can “switch off” the nerve endings that carry impulses from the part of the body on which surgery is being performed to the child’s brain.

In both cases, a certain area of ​​the body loses sensation. In this case, the child remains fully conscious, although he does not feel pain. Local anesthesia acts locally and has virtually no effect on the general condition of the body. The only danger in this case may be associated with the occurrence of an allergic reaction to the drug.

Actually, anesthesia is called general anesthesia, which involves turning off the patient’s consciousness. Under anesthesia, a child does not simply lose sensitivity to pain and fall into deep sleep. The use of various drugs and their combinations gives doctors the opportunity, if necessary, to suppress involuntary reflex reactions and reduce muscle tone. In addition, the use of general anesthesia causes complete amnesia - after medical intervention, the baby will not remember anything about the unpleasant sensations experienced on the operating table.

How dangerous is anesthesia for a child?

It is obvious that general anesthesia has a number of advantages, and in cases of complex operations it is certainly necessary. However, parents often worry about the negative consequences that anesthesia can cause.

In fact, the use of anesthesia in children is associated with a number of difficulties. Thus, a child’s body is less sensitive to certain drugs, and in order for anesthesia to work, their concentration in the child’s blood must be an order of magnitude higher than in adults. Associated with this is the danger of an overdose of anesthetics, which can cause hypoxia and other complications from the nervous and cardiovascular systems in the child, including cardiac arrest.

Another danger is related to the fact that it is more difficult for the child’s body to maintain a stable body temperature: the thermoregulation function has not yet developed properly. In this regard, in rare cases, a disorder caused by hypothermia or overheating of the body develops. In order to prevent this, the anesthesiologist must carefully monitor the body temperature of the small patient.

Unfortunately, there is a danger of an allergic reaction to the drug. In addition, a number of complications may be associated with certain diseases from which the child suffers. This is why it is so important to tell the anesthesiologist before the operation about all the characteristics of the child’s body and previous illnesses.

In general, modern anesthetics are safe, practically non-toxic and do not themselves cause any negative consequences. With a properly selected dosage, an experienced anesthesiologist will not allow any complications.

The topic of anesthesia is surrounded by a considerable number of myths, and all of them are quite frightening. Parents, faced with the need to treat a child under anesthesia, are usually worried and afraid of negative consequences. Vladislav Krasnov, an anesthesiologist at the Beauty Line group of medical companies, will help Letidor figure out what is true and what is false in the 11 most famous myths about childhood anesthesia.

Myth 1: a child will not wake up after anesthesia

This is the worst consequence that moms and dads fear. And quite fair for a loving and caring parent. Medical statistics, which mathematically determine the ratio of successful and unsuccessful procedures, also exist in anesthesiology. A certain percentage, although fortunately negligible, of failures, including fatal ones, does exist.

This percentage in modern anesthesiology, according to American statistics, is as follows: 2 fatal complications per 1 million procedures; in Europe it is 6 such complications per 1 million anesthesias.

Complications in anesthesiology occur, as in any field of medicine. But the tiny percentage of such complications is a reason for optimism among both young patients and their parents.

Myth 2: The child will wake up during the operation

Using modern methods of anesthesia and its monitoring, it is possible with a probability close to 100% to guarantee that the patient will not awaken during surgery.

Modern anesthetics and anesthesia monitoring methods (for example, BIS technology or entropy methods) allow precise dosing of drugs and monitoring of its depth. Today there are real opportunities to receive feedback on the depth of anesthesia, its quality, and expected duration.

Myth 3: the anesthesiologist will “give an injection” and leave the operating room

This is a fundamentally misconception about the work of an anesthesiologist. An anesthesiologist is a qualified specialist, certified and certified, who is responsible for his work. He is obliged to remain constantly with his patient during the entire operation.

The main task of an anesthesiologist is to ensure the safety of the patient during any surgical procedure.

He cannot “get an injection and leave,” as his parents fear.

Also deeply incorrect is the common perception of an anesthesiologist as “not quite a doctor.” This is a doctor, a medical specialist who, firstly, provides analgesia - that is, the absence of pain, secondly, the patient’s comfort in the operating room, thirdly, the complete safety of the patient, and fourthly, the calm work of the surgeon.

Protecting the patient is the goal of the anesthesiologist.

Myth 4: Anesthesia destroys a child's brain cells

Anesthesia, on the contrary, serves to ensure that brain cells (and not only brain cells) are not destroyed during surgery. Like any medical procedure, it is performed according to strict indications. For anesthesia, these are surgical interventions that, without anesthesia, will be disastrous for the patient. Since these operations are very painful, if the patient remains awake during them, the harm from them will be incomparably greater than from operations that take place under anesthesia.

Anesthetics undoubtedly affect the central nervous system - they depress it, causing sleep. This is the meaning of their use. But today, in conditions of compliance with the rules of administration and monitoring of anesthesia using modern equipment, anesthetics are quite safe.

The effect of the drugs is reversible, and many of them have antidotes, which, when administered, the doctor can immediately interrupt the effect of anesthesia.

Myth 5: Anesthesia will cause allergies in your child.

This is not a myth, but a fair concern: anesthetics, like any medications and products, even plant pollen, can cause an allergic reaction, which, unfortunately, is quite difficult to predict.

But an anesthesiologist has the skills, medications and technology to combat the effects of allergies.

Myth 6: Inhalation anesthesia is much more harmful than intravenous anesthesia

Parents are afraid that the inhalation anesthesia machine will damage the child's mouth and throat. But when an anesthesiologist chooses a method of anesthesia (inhalation, intravenous, or a combination of both), he assumes that this should cause minimal harm to the patient. The endotracheal tube, which is inserted into the child's trachea during anesthesia, serves to protect the trachea from foreign objects entering it: fragments of teeth, saliva, blood, and stomach contents.

All invasive (invading the body) actions of the anesthesiologist are aimed at protecting the patient from possible complications.

Modern methods of inhalation anesthesia involve not only tracheal intubation, that is, placing a tube into it, but also the use of a laryngeal mask, which is less traumatic.

Myth 7: Anesthesia causes hallucinations

This is not a fallacy, but a completely fair remark. Many of today's anesthetics are hallucinogenic drugs. But other drugs that are administered in combination with anesthetics can neutralize this effect.

For example, the almost universally known drug ketamine is an excellent, reliable, stable anesthetic, but it causes hallucinations. Therefore, a benzodiazepine is administered along with it, which eliminates this side effect.

Myth 8: Anesthesia is instantly addictive and the child will become a drug addict.

This is a myth, and a rather absurd one at that. Modern anesthesia uses drugs that are not addictive.

Moreover, medical interventions, especially with the help of some kind of equipment, surrounded by doctors in special clothes, do not evoke any positive emotions in the child or a desire to repeat this experience.

Parents' fears are unfounded.

For anesthesia in children, medications are used that have a very short duration of action - no more than 20 minutes. They do not cause a child either a feeling of joy or euphoria. On the contrary, when using these anesthetics, the child actually does not remember events from the moment of anesthesia. Today it is the gold standard of anesthesia.

Myth 9: the consequences of anesthesia - deterioration of memory and attention, poor health - will remain with the child for a long time

Disorders of the psyche, attention, intelligence and memory are what worries parents when they think about the consequences of anesthesia.

Modern anesthetics - short-acting and at the same time very well controlled - are eliminated from the body as soon as possible after their administration.

Myth 10: Anesthesia can always be replaced with local anesthesia

If a child is undergoing a surgical operation, which, due to its pain, is performed under anesthesia, refusing it is many times more dangerous than resorting to it.

Of course, any operation can be performed under local anesthesia - this was the case 100 years ago. But in this case, the child receives a colossal amount of toxic local anesthetics, he sees what is happening in the operating room, and understands the potential danger.

For a still unformed psyche, such stress is much more dangerous than sleep after the administration of an anesthetic.

Myth 11: Anesthesia should not be given to a child under a certain age.

Here the opinions of parents differ: some believe that anesthesia is acceptable no earlier than 10 years, while others even push the acceptable limit to 13-14 years. But this is a misconception.

Treatment under anesthesia in modern medical practice is carried out at any age if indicated.

Unfortunately, a serious illness can affect even a newborn baby. If he is undergoing a surgical operation during which he will need protection, the anesthesiologist will provide protection regardless of the patient’s age.

Very often, anesthesia scares people even more than the operation itself. The unknown, possible unpleasant sensations when falling asleep and waking up, and numerous conversations about the harmful effects of anesthesia are scary. Especially if all this concerns your child. What is modern anesthesia? And how safe is it for the child’s body?

In most cases, all we know about anesthesia is that the operation under its influence is painless. But in life it may happen that this knowledge is not enough, for example, if the issue of surgery for your child is decided. What do you need to know about anesthesia?

Anesthesia, or general anesthesia, is a time-limited medicinal effect on the body, in which the patient is in an unconscious state when painkillers are administered to him, with the subsequent restoration of consciousness, without pain in the area of ​​​​the operation. Anesthesia may include administering artificial respiration to the patient, ensuring muscle relaxation, placing IVs to maintain a constant internal environment of the body using infusion solutions, monitoring and compensating for blood loss, antibiotic prophylaxis, preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting, and so on. All actions are aimed at ensuring that the patient undergoes surgery and “wake up” after the operation without experiencing a state of discomfort.

Types of anesthesia

Depending on the method of administration, anesthesia can be inhalational, intravenous and intramuscular. The choice of anesthesia method lies with the anesthesiologist and depends on the patient’s condition, on the type of surgical intervention, on the qualifications of the anesthesiologist and surgeon, etc., because different general anesthesia may be prescribed for the same operation. The anesthesiologist can mix different types of anesthesia, achieving the ideal combination for a given patient.

Anesthesia is conventionally divided into “small” and “large”; it all depends on the quantity and combination of drugs from different groups.

“Small” anesthesia includes inhalation (hardware-mask) anesthesia and intramuscular anesthesia. With machine-mask anesthesia, the child receives an anesthetic drug in the form of an inhalation mixture while breathing independently. Painkillers introduced into the body by inhalation are called inhalational anesthetics (Ftorotan, Isoflurane, Sevoflurane). This type of general anesthesia is used for low-traumatic, short-term operations and manipulations, as well as for various types of research, when a short-term switching off of the child’s consciousness is necessary. Currently, inhalation anesthesia is most often combined with local (regional) anesthesia, since it is not effective enough as mononarcosis. Intramuscular anesthesia is now practically not used and is becoming a thing of the past, since the anesthesiologist absolutely cannot control the effect on the patient’s body of this type of anesthesia. In addition, the drug, which is mainly used for intramuscular anesthesia - Ketamine - according to the latest data, is not so harmless for the patient: it turns off long-term memory for a long period (almost six months), interfering with full-fledged memory.

“Major” anesthesia is a multicomponent pharmacological effect on the body. Includes the use of such medicinal groups as narcotic analgesics (not to be confused with drugs), muscle relaxants (drugs that temporarily relax skeletal muscles), sleeping pills, local anesthetics, a complex of infusion solutions and, if necessary, blood products. Medicines are administered both intravenously and by inhalation through the lungs. The patient undergoes artificial pulmonary ventilation (ALV) during the operation.

Are there any contraindications?

There are no contraindications to anesthesia, except for the refusal of the patient or his relatives to undergo anesthesia. However, many surgical interventions can be performed without anesthesia, under local anesthesia (pain relief). But when we talk about the patient’s comfortable condition during surgery, when it is important to avoid psycho-emotional and physical stress, anesthesia is necessary, that is, the knowledge and skills of an anesthesiologist are needed. And it is not at all necessary that anesthesia in children is used only during operations. Anesthesia may be required for a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, where it is necessary to remove anxiety, turn off consciousness, to enable the child not to remember unpleasant sensations, the absence of parents, a long forced position, a dentist with shiny instruments and a drill. Wherever a child needs peace of mind, an anesthesiologist is needed - a doctor whose task is to protect the patient from operational stress.

Before a planned operation, it is important to take into account the following point: if a child has a concomitant pathology, then it is desirable that the disease is not exacerbated. If a child has been ill with acute respiratory viral infection (ARVI), then the recovery period is at least two weeks, and it is advisable not to carry out planned operations during this period of time, since the risk of postoperative complications significantly increases and breathing problems may arise during the operation, because respiratory infection in primarily affects the respiratory tract.

Before the operation, the anesthesiologist will definitely talk with you about abstract topics: where the child was born, how he was born, whether vaccinations were given and when, how he grew, how he developed, what illnesses he had, whether he has any diseases, examine the child, get acquainted with the medical history, and carefully study all the tests. . He will tell you what will happen to your child before the operation, during the operation and in the immediate postoperative period.

Some terminology

Premedication- psycho-emotional and medicinal preparation of the patient for the upcoming operation, begins several days before surgery and ends immediately before the operation. The main goal of remedication is to relieve fear, reduce the risk of developing allergic reactions, prepare the body for upcoming stress, and calm the child. Medicines can be administered orally in the form of syrup, as a nasal spray, intramuscularly, intravenously, and also in the form of microenemas.

Vein catheterization- placement of a catheter in a peripheral or central vein for repeated administration of intravenous medications during surgery. This manipulation is performed before surgery.

Artificial pulmonary ventilation (ALV)- a method of delivering oxygen to the lungs and further to all tissues of the body using an artificial ventilation device. During surgery, they temporarily relax the skeletal muscles, which is necessary for intubation. Intubation- insertion of an incubation tube into the lumen of the trachea for artificial ventilation of the lungs during surgery. This manipulation by the anesthesiologist is aimed at ensuring the delivery of oxygen to the lungs and protecting the patient's airways.

Infusion therapy- intravenous administration of sterile solutions to maintain a constant water-electrolyte balance in the body, the volume of circulating blood through the vessels, to reduce the consequences of surgical blood loss.

Transfusion therapy- intravenous administration of drugs made from the patient’s blood or donor’s blood (erythrocyte mass, fresh frozen plasma, etc.) to compensate for irreparable blood loss. Transfusion therapy is an operation for the forced introduction of foreign matter into the body; it is used according to strict health conditions.

Regional (local) anesthesia- a method of anesthetizing a specific area of ​​the body by applying a solution of local anesthetic (painkiller) to large nerve trunks. One of the options for regional anesthesia is epidural anesthesia, when a local anesthetic solution is injected into the paravertebral space. This is one of the most technically difficult manipulations in anesthesiology. The simplest and most well-known local anesthetics are Novocaine and Lidocaine, and the modern, safe and longest-acting one is Ropivacaine.

Preparing the child for anesthesia

The most important thing is the emotional sphere. It is not always necessary to tell your child about the upcoming operation. The exception is when the disease interferes with the child and he consciously wants to get rid of it.

The most unpleasant thing for parents is the hunger pause, i.e. six hours before anesthesia, you cannot feed the child; four hours before, you cannot even give him water, and by water we mean a clear, non-carbonated liquid without odor or taste. A newborn who is on can be fed for the last time four hours before anesthesia, and for a child who is on, this period is extended to six hours. A fasting pause will allow you to avoid such complications during the onset of anesthesia as aspiration, i.e. entry of stomach contents into the respiratory tract (this will be discussed later).

Should I do an enema before surgery or not? The patient's intestines must be emptied before the operation so that during the operation under the influence of anesthesia there is no involuntary passage of stool. Moreover, this condition must be observed during operations on the intestines. Typically, three days before surgery, the patient is prescribed a diet that excludes meat products and foods containing plant fiber; sometimes a laxative is added to this the day before the operation. In this case, an enema is not needed unless the surgeon requires it.

The anesthesiologist has many devices in his arsenal to distract the child’s attention from the upcoming anesthesia. These include breathing bags with images of different animals, and face masks with the smell of strawberries and oranges, these are ECG electrodes with images of cute faces of your favorite animals - that is, everything for a child to fall asleep comfortably. But still, parents should stay with the child until he falls asleep. And the baby should wake up next to his parents (if the child is not transferred to the intensive care unit after the operation).

During surgery

After the child has fallen asleep, the anesthesia deepens to the so-called “surgical stage”, at which point the surgeon begins the operation. At the end of the operation, the “strength” of anesthesia decreases and the child wakes up.

What happens to the child during the operation? He sleeps without experiencing any sensations, particularly pain. The child's condition is assessed clinically by the anesthesiologist - by looking at the skin, visible mucous membranes, eyes, he listens to the child's lungs and heartbeat, monitoring (observation) of the work of all vital organs and systems is used, and if necessary, rapid laboratory tests are performed. Modern monitoring equipment allows you to monitor heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, the content of oxygen, carbon dioxide, inhalational anesthetics in the inhaled and exhaled air, oxygen saturation in the blood as a percentage, the degree of depth of sleep and the degree of pain relief, the level of muscle relaxation, the ability to conduct a pain impulse along the nerve trunk and much, much more. The anesthesiologist carries out infusion and, if necessary, transfusion therapy; in addition to drugs for anesthesia, antibacterial, hemostatic, and antiemetic drugs are administered.

Coming out of anesthesia

The period of recovery from anesthesia lasts no more than 1.5-2 hours while the drugs administered for anesthesia are in effect (not to be confused with the postoperative period, which lasts 7-10 days). Modern drugs can reduce the period of recovery from anesthesia to 15-20 minutes, however, according to established tradition, the child must be under the supervision of an anesthesiologist for 2 hours after anesthesia. This period may be complicated by dizziness, nausea and vomiting, and pain in the area of ​​the postoperative wound. In children of the first year of life, the usual pattern of sleep and wakefulness may be disrupted, which is restored within 1-2 weeks.

The tactics of modern anesthesiology and surgery dictate early activation of the patient after surgery: get out of bed as early as possible, start drinking and eating as early as possible - within an hour after a short, low-traumatic, uncomplicated operation and within three to four hours after a more serious operation. If a child is transferred to the intensive care unit after surgery, then the resuscitator takes over further monitoring of the child’s condition, and here continuity in the transfer of the patient from doctor to doctor is important.

How and with what to relieve pain after surgery? In our country, painkillers are prescribed by the attending surgeon. These can be narcotic analgesics (Promedol), non-narcotic analgesics (Tramal, Moradol, Analgin, Baralgin), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Ketorol, Ketorolac, Ibuprofen) and antipyretic drugs (Panadol, Nurofen).

Possible complications

Modern anesthesiology seeks to minimize its pharmacological aggression by reducing the duration of action of drugs, their quantity, removing the drug from the body almost unchanged (Sevoflurane) or completely destroying it with enzymes of the body itself (Remifentanil). But, unfortunately, the risk still remains. Although it is minimal, complications are still possible.

The inevitable question is: what complications can arise during anesthesia and what consequences can they lead to?

Anaphylactic shock is an allergic reaction to the administration of drugs for anesthesia, to the transfusion of blood products, to the administration of antibiotics, etc. The most formidable and unpredictable complication, which can develop instantly, can occur in response to the administration of any drug in any person. Occurs with a frequency of 1 in 10,000 anesthesia. It is characterized by a sharp decrease in blood pressure, disruption of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The consequences can be the most fatal. Unfortunately, this complication can only be avoided if the patient or his immediate family previously had a similar reaction to this drug and is simply excluded from anesthesia. Anaphylactic reactions are difficult and difficult to treat; they are based on hormonal drugs (for example, Adrenaline, Prednisolone, Dexamethasone).

Another dangerous complication that is almost impossible to prevent and prevent is malignant hyperthermia - a condition in which, in response to the administration of inhalational anesthetics and muscle relaxants, body temperature increases significantly (up to 43 ° C). Most often this is a congenital predisposition. The consolation is that the development of malignant hyperthermia is an extremely rare situation, occurring in 1 in 100,000 general anesthetics.

Aspiration is the entry of stomach contents into the respiratory tract. The development of this complication is most often possible during emergency operations, if little time has passed since the patient’s last meal and the stomach has not been completely emptied. In children, aspiration can occur during hardware-mask anesthesia with passive flow of stomach contents into the oral cavity. This complication threatens the development of severe bilateral pneumonia and burns of the respiratory tract with the acidic contents of the stomach.

Respiratory failure is a pathological condition that develops when the delivery of oxygen to the lungs and gas exchange in the lungs are disrupted, in which the maintenance of normal blood gas composition is not ensured. Modern monitoring equipment and careful observation help to avoid or timely diagnose this complication.

Cardiovascular failure is a pathological condition in which the heart is unable to provide adequate blood supply to organs. As an independent complication in children, it is extremely rare, most often as a result of other complications, such as anaphylactic shock, massive blood loss, and insufficient pain relief. A complex of resuscitation measures is carried out followed by long-term rehabilitation.

Mechanical damage is a complication that can occur during procedures performed by an anesthesiologist, be it tracheal intubation, venous catheterization, placement of a gastric tube or urinary catheter. A more experienced anesthesiologist will experience fewer of these complications.

Modern anesthesia drugs have undergone numerous preclinical and clinical trials, first in adult patients. And only after several years of safe use are they allowed in pediatric practice. The main feature of modern anesthesia drugs is the absence of adverse reactions, rapid elimination from the body, and predictable duration of action from the administered dose. Based on this, anesthesia is safe, has no long-term consequences and can be repeated several times.

Without a doubt, the anesthesiologist has a huge responsibility for the patient's life. Together with the surgeon, he strives to help your child cope with the disease, sometimes being solely responsible for preserving life.

06/26/2006 12:26:48, Mikhail

Overall, a good informational article; it’s a shame that hospitals don’t provide such detailed information. My daughter was given about 10 anesthesia in the first 9 months of her life. There was a long anesthesia at the age of 3 days, then a lot of mass and intramuscular ones. Thank God there were no complications. Now she is 3 years old, develops normally, reads poetry, counts to 10. But it’s still scary how all these anesthesia affected the child’s mental state. Almost nothing is said about this anywhere. As they say, “saving the main thing, don’t bother with the little things.”
I made a proposal to our doctors to provide a certificate of all manipulations on children, so that parents could calmly read and understand, otherwise everything is on the go, fleeting phrases. Thanks for the article.

I myself underwent anesthesia twice and both times I had the feeling that I was very cold, I woke up and started chattering my teeth, and even a severe allergy began in the form of hives, the spots then increased and merged into a single whole (as I understand it, swelling began). For some reason, the article does not say about such reactions of the body, maybe it’s individual. And it took several months for my head to get better, my memory noticeably decreased. How does this affect children and if a child has neurological problems, what are the consequences of anesthesia for such children?

04/13/2006 15:34:26, Fish

My child has undergone three anesthesia and I really want to know how this will affect his development and psyche. But no one can answer this question for me. I was hoping to find out in this article. But only general phrases that there is nothing harmful in anesthesia. But in general, the article is useful for general development and for parents.

A note on conduct. Why is this article placed in the "Car" section? Of course, some connection can be traced, but after an “encounter” with a car, preparing for anesthesia for three days is usually quite problematic;-(

For some reason, the article, and indeed most materials on this topic, do not talk about the effect of anesthesia on the human psyche, and especially on a child. Many people say that anesthesia is not only about “falling and waking up”, but rather unpleasant “glitches” - flying along the corridor, different voices, the feeling of dying, etc. And an anesthetist friend said that these side effects do not occur when using the latest generation drugs, for example, Recofol.