The influence of general anesthesia on the human body: consequences. Vision decreased after anesthesia After anesthesia, one eye sees worse

Risk is an integral part of all our lives. Many of the things we do in our Everyday life, are associated with a certain risk to our health - this includes driving a car, swimming in a pond, and even eating certain types of food.

Many used in modern medicine therapeutic techniques, designed by definition to improve the health status of patients, can themselves cause the development of serious complications, as paradoxical as this may sound. Surgical interventions are no exception (which sometimes cause serious surgical complications), and the anesthesia performed, the role of which we want to talk about in this article.

Anesthesia is designed to protect your body from surgical trauma. Anesthesia is not so much pain relief as ensuring the safety of your life during surgery. Despite the fact that anesthesia, as such, is a great benefit and a positive component of the operation, at the same time, it itself can cause the development of serious reactions and complications.

Your anesthesiologist will be able to tell you in more detail what risks the planned operation and anesthesia pose to you. Below we will tell you about the most common reactions and complications that can be the consequences of anesthesia and anesthesia.

First, it should be said that all reactions and complications according to the frequency of development are usually divided into five gradations:

For greater simplicity and better understanding, we have presented to you all possible complications of anesthesia and consequences of anesthesia in the form of three blocks:

1 Very often, as well as common complications of anesthesia, consequences of anesthesia:

1.1 Nausea

1.2 Sore throat

1.4 Dizziness and lightheadedness

1.5 Headache

1.7 Pain in the back and lower back

1.8 Muscle pain

1.9 Confusion

2 Uncommon consequences of anesthesia, complications of anesthesia:

2.1 Postoperative pulmonary infection

2.2 Injury to teeth, lips, tongue

2.3 Waking up on time general anesthesia

3 Rare and very rare complications of anesthesia and consequences of anesthesia:

3.1 Nerve damage associated with general anesthesia

3.2 Nerve injury associated with regional anesthesia

3.3 Serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)

3.4 Eye damage during general anesthesia

3.5 Death or brain damage

Very common and common adverse reactions and complications of anesthesia (consequences of anesthesia)

• Nausea

This is a very common consequence of anesthesia, occurring in approximately 30% of cases. Nausea is more common with general than with regional anesthesia. Here are some tips to help reduce your risk of nausea:

During the first hours after surgery, you should not be active - sitting down and getting out of bed;

Avoid drinking water and food immediately after surgery;

Good pain relief is also important because strong pain may cause nausea, so if pain occurs, notify medical personnel;

Deep breathing and slowly inhaling air can help reduce the feeling of nausea.

• A sore throat

Its severity can vary from discomfort to severe constant pain disturbing when talking or swallowing. You may also experience dry mouth. These symptoms may subside within a few hours after surgery, but may persist for two or more days. If the above symptoms do not go away within two days after surgery, contact your doctor. A sore throat is only a consequence, not a complication of anesthesia.

• Shiver

Trembling, which is another consequence of anesthesia, poses a certain problem for patients, as it causes them great discomfort, although most often it does not pose any danger to the body and lasts about 20-30 minutes. Trembling can occur either after general anesthesia or as a complication of an epidural or spinal anesthesia. You may be able to reduce your risk of shivering somewhat by keeping your body warm before surgery. You need to take care of warm things in advance. Remember that the hospital may be cooler than your home.

• Dizziness and lightheadedness

The residual effect of anesthetics may manifest itself as a slight decrease in blood pressure In addition, dehydration, which is not so uncommon after surgery, can lead to the same effect. A decrease in pressure can cause dizziness, weakness, and faintness.

• Headache

There are many reasons that can cause a headache. These are medications used for anesthesia, the operation itself, dehydration and simply unnecessary anxiety for the patient. More often headache goes away a few hours after anesthesia on its own or after taking painkillers. Severe headache can be a complication of both spinal anesthesia and epidural analgesia. The features of its treatment are described in detail in the article “Headache after spinal anesthesia.”

Itching is usually a side reaction to anesthesia medications (particularly morphine), but itching can also be a manifestation of an allergic reaction, so if it occurs, be sure to tell your doctor.

• Back and lower back pain

During the operation, the patient is sufficiently long time is in one constant position on a hard operating table, which can lead to “tired” back and, ultimately, to the occurrence of lower back pain after surgery.

• Muscle pain

Most often, muscle pain after anesthesia occurs in young males, most often their occurrence is associated with the use of a drug called ditilin during anesthesia, usually used in emergency surgery, as well as situations when the patient’s stomach is not free of food. Muscle pain is a consequence of anesthesia (general anesthesia), it is symmetrical, most often localized in the neck, shoulders, upper abdomen and lasts approximately 2-3 days after surgery.

• Confusion

Some patients, most often elderly, experience confusion after surgery and anesthesia. Their memory may deteriorate, and their behavior may differ from their usual state. This can be very worrying for you, your family, friends and loved ones. However, all these phenomena should disappear along with recovery from the operation.

The following recommendations can reduce the likelihood of postoperative impairment of consciousness:

Before hospitalization, try to be as healthy as possible, eat healthy food, do physical exercise;

Talk to your anesthesiologist about the possibility of performing the operation under regional anesthesia;

If your operation is not large in scope and you do not live alone at home, then discuss with your attending surgeon the possibility of returning home as early as possible after the operation;

Make sure you remember to take your contact lenses and hearing aid;

Unless your doctor says otherwise, continue to take your usual home medications in the hospital;

If you drink alcohol, you should consult with a narcologist about how to safely reduce and then completely stop taking it. In the hospital, you should also tell your doctors how much alcohol you drink.

Uncommon consequences of anesthesia, adverse reactions and complications of anesthesia

• Postoperative pulmonary infection

Pulmonary infection (bronchitis, pneumonia) is most often a consequence of general anesthesia (anesthesia). A few simple measures will significantly reduce the risk of this complication:

If you are a smoker, you should quit smoking approximately 6 weeks before surgery;

If you have chronic pulmonary disease, then it should be treated as much as possible before the anesthesia you plan. To do this, even before hospitalization, seek medical help from your primary care physician or pulmonologist;

Good pain relief after surgery is the key to good breathing and coughing ability, and, therefore, an important link in reducing the risk of pulmonary infection. Talk to your anesthesiologist about postoperative epidural pain relief if you are having major surgery on the chest or abdomen.

• Injury to teeth, lips, tongue

General anesthesia poses some risk of dental damage, which occurs in approximately 1 in 45,000 anesthesia experiences. Serious damage to the tongue is quite rare. But minor injuries to the lips or tongue occur quite often - in about 5% of cases of general anesthesia.

If your teeth or gums are in poor condition, then warn possible problems A pre-operative visit to the dentist will help you with your teeth. If you know that during previous anesthesia there were difficulties with inserting the breathing tube or that your teeth were damaged, be sure to provide this information to your anesthesiologist.

• Waking up during anesthesia

When a patient is given general anesthesia, he is in unconscious. Awakening during anesthesia is a situation when, during an operation, the patient regains consciousness, and after anesthesia he can remember some episodes of the operation itself. Fortunately, this very unpleasant anesthesia complication occurs in real life rarely.

Rare and very rare adverse reactions and complications of anesthesia (consequences of anesthesia)

• Nerve damage as a complication general anesthesia

This type of complication is characterized by a feeling of numbness, tingling or pain. There may also be a disturbance in the sensation of heat or cold. There may also be a feeling of weakness in the limb or paralysis. Depending on the extent of the lesion, all these manifestations can be disturbing in any small area of ​​the body or the entire limb. Typically, all complaints, depending on the initial severity of symptoms, disappear after a few days or months. Full recovery sometimes it can take up to a year. The most common injury to the ulnar nerve occurs in the elbow area, as well as peroneal nerve in the knee area.

• Nerve injury, which is a complication of epidural anesthesia, as well as a complication of spinal anesthesia

These complications are rare and usually temporary damage that resolves after a few weeks to months. Cases of complete immobilization (paralysis) of one or two limbs are very rare (approximately 1 case in 50,000).

If signs of nerve injury appear after surgery, this does not mean that the cause was epidural or spinal anesthesia. Below are others no less common reasons that can cause nerve injury:

The nerve can be injured by the surgeon (unfortunately, during some operations this is sometimes difficult and impossible to avoid);

The position in which you were placed on the operating table may put pressure or tension on the nerve, causing it to become damaged;

The use of tourniquets by the surgeon to reduce the amount of blood loss during surgery puts pressure on the nerve, also contributing to its damage;

In addition, the cause of nerve compression may be postoperative swelling(in the area of ​​operation);

The presence of concomitant chronic diseases such as diabetes or vascular atherosclerosis significantly increase the risk of nerve damage during anesthesia

• Severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)

During anesthesia, as well as throughout your entire stay in the hospital, you will constantly receive a large amount of medications necessary for your speedy recovery. All of these medications can cause a very severe allergic reaction - anaphylaxis. The incidence of its development is approximately 1 case in 15,000 anesthesias. As a rule, an anesthesiologist successfully diagnoses and treats this serious complication, but statistically one in twenty such serious reactions can lead to death.

• Eye damage during general anesthesia

This is an uncommon or rare complication of anesthesia. The most common type of eye injury during and after general anesthesia is corneal injury (approximately 1 in 2000 anesthesia events). This pathology does not affect visual acuity, but can lead to the appearance of a dark or blurry dot on the affected eye. Most often, corneal injury occurs due to the fact that during anesthesia the patient's eyelids do not always close completely. As a result, the cornea becomes dry and the eyelid “sticks” to it. inside. Further, when the eyes are opened, damage to the cornea occurs.

Eye damage leading to loss of vision is statistically extremely rare.

• Death or brain damage

If the patient is relatively healthy and is undergoing non-emergency surgery, then the risk of death is very small and is about 1 case per 100,000 general anesthesias. The risk increases if the patient is elderly, if the operation is emergency or extensive, if there are pre-existing health problems (especially heart or lung disease), and if the patient's general condition before surgery is severe. The risk of stroke leading to brain damage increases in older people, in patients who have previously had a stroke, and also in cases where surgery is performed on the brain, neck, carotid arteries or heart.

The necessity and justification of general anesthesia is no longer in doubt. In the surgical sector of medicine, general anesthesia is as necessary as air. Besides, this method used by dentists in particularly unpleasant situations, gynecologists (for some pathologies), as well as doctors of many other specialties.

General anesthesia is definitely necessary, but do not forget that loss of consciousness through drug stunning nervous system– a critical situation for the body, which has a number of side effects and complications.

That is why there is a very difficult medical specialty– anesthesiologist.

Before administering anesthesia, the doctor explains in detail the main risks and adverse reactions. As a rule, the patient is introduced to typical complications, as well as individual risks associated with age, pathologies of cardio-vascular system, oncological pathology and so on.

Nausea after anesthesia

Nausea - most popular by-effect

Most common side effect after anesthesia. Occurs in every third case. Of course, with local (regional) anesthesia this complication is much less common.

There are some general principles to reduce the likelihood of nausea after anesthesia:

• Don’t rush to get up after surgery, much less run somewhere. Your body does not know that you are an important busy person, it only understands that it was first stunned chemicals, and now for some reason they are shaking. As a result, you may vomit at the most inopportune moment;
• Do not drink or eat for 3 hours after surgery;
• If you are worried about severe pain (the anesthetic was titrated incorrectly, for example), then you should not endure it - tell the nurse or doctor, because may vomit from pain;
• If nausea occurs, try to breathe deeply and slowly. Saturating tissues with oxygen reduces the risk of nausea.

Pain when swallowing or speaking and dry mouth

Pain when swallowing may occur after endotracheal anesthesia

After endotracheal anesthesia (the most popular type of general anesthesia), you may experience a sore throat, pain when swallowing or while talking. These are the consequences of not entirely successful intubation. This is usually associated with anatomical features the patient, less often - with the negligence of the anesthesiologist. This kind of pain goes away within a few hours after anesthesia. Sometimes it takes 2-3 days for this side effect to disappear.

If after surgery the sore throat does not go away after 2 days, contact your doctor. Most likely, the tube injured the tracheal mucosa.

Headache after general anesthesia

Headache after anesthesia is more common in women

This complication occurs more often in women, especially in those prone to migraines and headaches in general. Medicines, stress on the body from the very surgical manipulation, the patient’s fears – there are plenty of reasons for vascular spasm and headaches.

This type of headache goes away within 2-3 hours after the procedure.

On the other hand, headache is a typical complication of spinal and epidural anesthesia, which the doctor should warn the patient about in such cases.

Dizziness can be due to a transient decrease in blood pressure, and also as a consequence of dehydration. Patients may also experience weakness, even to the point of fainting.

Stupor (impaired perception) after surgery

Confusion or stupor is a common side effect in older adults

Often found in elderly patients. After anesthesia, the nervous system experiences some difficulties in cleansing cells and restoring cognitive functions: memory temporarily deteriorates, and deviant behavior may occur. Fortunately, all these problems are temporary and gradually disappear (up to 2 weeks).

The causes of this kind of complications are associated both with the metabolic characteristics of the elderly and with psychological trauma from the fact of the operation. An increased burden is also created by communication with strangers in an unusual (frightening) environment.

At elective surgery In an elderly person, you can reduce the severity of this complication as follows:

• Try (if the disease allows) to lead an active lifestyle before surgery;
• If it is possible to carry out manipulation under local anesthesia- do so;
• If you live with your family, try to agree with your doctor about the maximum quick return home after surgery;
• Check if you took the medications prescribed to you (for hypertension, for example), reading glasses and books (magazines, checkers, etc.) to the hospital;
• Do not drink alcohol before or after anesthesia.

Body tremors after surgery

Many patients experience severe tremors after emerging from anesthesia. This condition does not pose a danger to health, but it is quite annoying for the patient. Paroxysms of this kind last no more than half an hour. Type of anesthesia in in this case does not matter - the reason is the cooling of tissues during surgery (the individual characteristics of microcirculation, diabetes, atherosclerosis in the patient play a role).

The only thing that can be done to prevent this condition is not to freeze before surgery (take warm clothes to the hospital in the cold season).

Itchy skin after anesthesia

In some cases, the doctor is not informed about the patient’s allergic reactions. Sometimes the patient himself does not know that he has an allergy. For this reason, skin reactions may develop, manifested by itching, which should be reported to your doctor immediately. Often this kind of excess is caused by morphine and some other drugs used for anesthesia.

Itchy skin after anesthesia may be the result of an allergic reaction

Spinal pain after surgery

During spinal anesthesia, pain can be caused by a traumatic factor, so if you experience pain in the lumbar or any other part of the spine, tell your doctor. This is especially important in cases where back pain is combined with paresis or plegia of the limb (limited mobility).

The above case is a very rare complication. Most often, the back hurts because a person has been lying on a fairly hard surface of the operating table for some time, which, in combination with osteochondrosis, gives painful sensations.

Lower back pain and other muscle pain are the result of using Ditilin

Muscle pain after anesthesia

Caused by the use of the drug Ditilin, which is actively used in urgent surgery (especially when the patient is not ready for surgery - a full stomach, etc.). All muscles hurt, especially the neck, shoulders, and abs.

The duration of “ditilin” pain does not exceed 3 days after anesthesia.

All subsequent complications are, fortunately, quite rare, but the doctor must take into account their possibility and be prepared for them.

Injury to lips, tongue or teeth during surgery

Injury to the tongue or teeth is a consequence not of anesthesia, but of its administration

These are, in fact, not the consequences of the anesthesia itself, but mechanical damage during its administration. Teeth are damaged, on average, in two out of 100,000 patients (carious, as a rule). Before general anesthesia, it is advisable to treat caries and stomatitis.

The tongue and lips are slightly damaged in one out of 20 patients; you need to be mentally prepared for this. All defects disappear without a trace within a week after anesthesia.

Postoperative pulmonary infection

Postoperative pneumonia is a consequence of an infection

The infection enters the lungs due to tracheal intubation, trauma and infection of the mucous membrane, or due to an unsterile tube. In addition, the cause may be either atypical anatomy respiratory tract in the patient, or already existing chronic illness respiratory system(Chronical bronchitis).

To reduce the risk of postoperative pneumonia, the following is recommended:

• We quit smoking one and a half months before the planned surgery;
• Bronchitis, tracheitis, laryngitis and sinusitis (if any) must be treated before endotracheal anesthesia;
• If it hurts to breathe after surgery, tell your doctor right away. Insufficient breathing increases the risk of infection, and hospital infection– the most “evil”.

Waking up during an operation

It happens extremely rarely and is eliminated by anesthesiologists almost instantly. This kind of situation occasionally occurs with drug addicts, as well as people who constantly take powerful analgesics (cancer patients, for example).

The brain, getting used to the effect on certain centers, in this case needs a higher dose of analgesic.

If (purely hypothetically) you constantly take sleeping pills, strong painkillers, or are dependent on any chemical substances, it is in your best interests to tell the anesthesiologist about this.

There are three varieties of this condition:

• The patient wakes up during surgery and tries to move. Doctors react instantly by increasing the dose of analgesic substances. In this case, the patient does not have time to really wake up or feel pain;
• The patient wakes up, does not feel pain, and cannot move. A rather surreal situation, but the patient does not experience any discomfort (except psychological);
• The patient wakes up, cannot move, and feels pain. In this case, serious mental trauma may remain.

Nerve damage during spinal or epidural anesthesia

They are extremely rare. As a rule, such damage is temporary and goes away in a month or a month and a half maximum.

One in 50,000 patients will experience paralysis of one or two limbs after spinal or epidural anesthesia.

This condition occurs due to the following factors:

• The nerve was injured by the anesthesiologist himself during the puncture;
• The nerve was damaged by the surgeon during the relevant operation;
• The patient was placed in an incorrect position on the operating table, which led to nerve compression;
• As a result of the operation, tissue edema developed, compressing the nerve;
• The patient had severe diabetes or atherosclerosis, which significantly increases the likelihood of such a situation.

I would like to emphasize once again that the indications for anesthesia of this kind are vital, and the probability of disability is only 0.0002%.

Anaphylactic shock during surgery

It rarely develops, it can happen to anything. If you carefully study the instructions for any medicinal product(not a dietary supplement), then there is definitely a complication - individual intolerance ( allergic reactions for components, etc.). If such a situation develops during anesthesia (1 case in 15,000), the anesthesiologist copes with the situation in 95% of cases.

The remaining 5% of 0.00006% of patients die.

In a word - from anaphylactic shock A vanishingly small number of patients die during anesthesia; there is no need to worry about this.

Photo gallery: rare complications during anesthesia

Dry cornea is a cause of damage when the patient awakens

Damage to the eyeball

Actually, no one touches the patient’s eyes during the operation; it’s just that some patients, due to certain physiological nuances, do not completely close their eyelids. The cornea dries out, and the eyelid itself can “stick” to it from the inside. When a person wakes up and tries to open his eye, the cornea is damaged. This manifests itself in the form of a dark dot on the damaged eye; over time, the condition goes away without additional therapeutic manipulations.

All taken together, the complications that anesthesia can cause are incomparable to the health benefits (including the ability to live in general) of the patient. Try to take into account the risk factors described above for postoperative complications, and promptly inform the attending physician about them.

General practitioner at a city clinic. Eight years ago I graduated from Tver State Medical University with honors. I decided not to stop there and am currently specializing in cosmetology and massage courses. Rate this article:

And I believed it. “Oils containing large amounts of unsaturated acid glycerides are capable of spontaneous combustion. This is explained by the fact that glycerides of unsaturated acids are oxidized in air to form peroxides, which easily decompose to form highly reactive atomic oxygen. The more oxygen is added to the glyceride molecule, the more heat is released." “To calculate the self-heating temperature and heating time of a solid material, the following formulas are proposed

lg t = Ap + nplg S lg t = Aв – nвlg τ, where t is temperature environment, °С; Ap, np, Av, nв – constants determined from experience; S – specific surface area of ​​the sample, m-1; τ – sample heating time, h.” And somehow there is no P (pressure) in the formulas.

After general anesthesia, absolutely everyone feels bad, although no ethers are used now.

It is well known that after their use, the liver stopped working in many patients.

Is general anesthesia harmful or is it a myth? Does anesthesia affect human life expectancy and health?

Modern drugs for anesthesia are slightly toxic to human organs.

If the dose is calculated correctly for you, the drug is administered correctly, there is nothing to be afraid of.

But we are afraid of anesthesia and pain, although we understand the inevitability of the operation and its necessity.

Now there is a lot of new things: equipment, drugs, a lot of new technologies, but we are still afraid, perhaps we don’t know what anesthesia is? What to expect from him?

Anesthesia implies safety during and after surgery.

The patient’s condition after general anesthesia, quality in a good clinic:

• No pain during treatment.
• No nausea or vomiting after surgery.
• Absence of chills, trembling (sometimes it is impossible to do without these symptoms after surgery).
• During operations, constant monitoring of breathing and blood circulation is carried out.
• Monitoring electrical activity brain, muscle conduction control, temperature regime.

After the operation, the patient is given anesthesia; if this is not enough, the patients inject themselves by pressing a button.

For this purpose, special devices have appeared that the patient carries with him constantly.

Doctors then monitor how many times the patient presses the button, and from these calculations they determine the degree of recovery of the patient.

Thanks to this, the time after surgery passes comfortably.

Before taking general anesthesia, consider:

• Your weight or body mass index.
• Medical history, tests, permission from specialists for anesthesia are studied.
• Patient's age.
• Current medications taken and allergic reactions to them.
• The patient's consumption of alcohol or drugs.
• Dental examination, as well as oral cavity, Airways.

General anesthesia, what is it:

General anesthesia, a state of coma, sleep in which the patient does not feel pain. He is not in pain, there are no reactions. The man seems unconscious.

General anesthesia is administered intravenously or inhaled.

Medicines are administered by an anesthesiologist, a specialist who monitors the patient's vital signs and breathing during surgery.

There are four stages:

Induction or first stage:

Characterized by the onset of drug administration and loss of sensitivity (consciousness).

Excitation stage – second stage:

There is delusional, excited activity. Heartbeats and breathing are erratic.

Nausea and dilated pupils may occur.

There is a danger of suffocation. Modern drugs limit the time for the two stages described above.

Surgical anesthesia or third stage:

When it occurs, all muscles relax and breathing is suppressed. Eye movement slows and then stops. The patient is ready for surgery.

Overdose stage, if your anesthesia dose was calculated incorrectly:

Leads to cardiovascular and respiratory failure.

As you understand, the fourth stage is an exception to the rule, but it sometimes happens, as everywhere and always.

Why do they do general anesthesia, and not anesthesia of only the necessary area of ​​the body?

Under what circumstances is it prescribed?

• The operation takes a long time.
• Risk of major blood loss.
• According to the patient's well-being.

Modern surgery is an absolutely safe intervention.

Immediately after anesthesia you may feel:

• Difficulty passing urine.
• Bruising, soreness on the arm due to the IV during surgery.
• Constant nausea, possible vomiting.
• Trembling and feeling cold, you will shake, and at first it will be difficult to warm up.
• Sore throat (associated with the presence of a breathing tube during surgery).
• You will not feel pain; nurses will constantly provide pain relief.

But there are groups at greater risk for consequences:

Elderly people undergoing long-term operations are at risk of serious consequences.

After anesthesia, they can suffer a heart attack, amnesia (memory loss), stroke and even pneumonia.

Of course, it’s good that now you can have surgery and recover, if not for the consequences after it. They are.

The consequences are early and appear later.

Consequences after general anesthesia:

Early consequences are immediately visible: the person does not recover from the state of anesthesia, and a cerebral coma occurs.

The consequences appear after a few days or weeks:

• Severe headache that is difficult to relieve with analgesics. Often you have to remove them with narcotic drugs.
• Sleep apnea - people stop breathing for a short period of time while sleeping.
• Blood pressure rises.
• Sudden dizziness that can last up to a day.
• arise panic attacks, fear that interferes with normal life. A person does not understand where this comes from or what to do.
• Cramps in the legs and calves, causing incredible suffering to the patient due to their frequent occurrence.
• The heart suffers, malfunctions appear, the pulse is frequent with high blood pressure.
• The kidneys and liver, the cleansing organs of our body, suffer. Whatever the drugs for anesthesia, in order for a person not to feel anything, an incredibly huge dose of them is needed. Naturally, to cleanse everything you need healthy organs.
• Sometimes alcoholism develops.
• Burning legs, arms, body.

Help yourself after surgery:

It’s very good to take courses:

• Piracetam, Cavinton (improves blood circulation and brain nutrition). Memory will be restored faster and headaches will go away.
• Take another ECG (electrocardiogram) to see what's wrong with your heart after the operation.
• Donate blood, go with the results of the tests to a therapist. Don't waste time.
• Avoid anesthesia at all times and everywhere. Treat your teeth under local anesthesia.

Sometimes life and health force us to take extreme measures in recovery methods - to have surgery, undergo anesthesia and crawl out after general anesthesia, get rid of the consequences after general anesthesia.

This is life, everything happens in it. Fewer such episodes in your life. Health and longevity!

I always look forward to seeing you on my website.

Watch the video, allergies and anesthesia:

Slight clouding of the lens is a natural part of aging. Cataracts involve a significant loss of clarity in the lens, which worsens over time. Cataract surgery is the only way to restore vision in this disease.

Before the operation, the patient is examined by an ophthalmologist, his general health is also examined, and the presence of contraindications to surgical intervention is determined.

The surgical intervention itself most often takes place in outpatient setting under local anesthesia, taking 10-20 minutes. Most often, phacoemulsification surgery is used for cataracts, in which, compared to traditional method, less trauma to eye tissue, which leads to faster rehabilitation after cataract surgery.

Before the intervention, special drops are instilled into the eye, which dilate the pupil and relieve pain. eyeball. After this, the ophthalmic surgeon makes a tiny incision in the cornea, through which the working instrument is inserted into the eye. Through this instrument, ultrasound is used to destroy the clouded lens into small pieces, which are then washed out of the eye. After removing the lens, the ophthalmic surgeon inserts an artificial lens in its place. There are no stitches placed on the incision; it closes on its own.

Most people can go home within a few hours of cataract surgery and continue their recovery.

Complications after surgery

The risk of serious complications from cataract surgery is very low. Most of them are easy to eliminate and do not have long-term effects on vision.

The risk of complications is increased in people with other eye diseases such as uveitis, high myopia or diabetic retinopathy. Problems are also more likely to occur in patients who cannot lie down easily, have difficulty breathing, or are taking medications to treat prostate problems.

The main problem that patients may encounter during rehabilitation after cataract surgery is clouding. posterior capsule lens This complication develops in approximately 10% of people within 2 years after surgical intervention. To eliminate it, the capsule is removed laser method, the procedure takes about 15 minutes.

Other complications are much less common.

During the intervention the following may be observed:

1. Impossibility of removing all lens tissue.
2. Bleeding inside the eyeball.
3. Rupture of the lens capsule.
4. Damage to other parts of the eye (such as the cornea).

During rehabilitation after lens replacement for cataracts, the following complications may develop:

1. Swelling and redness of the eye.
2. Retinal swelling.
3. Corneal edema.
4. Retinal disinsertion.

If there is any deterioration in vision, increased pain or redness after surgery, the patient should consult an ophthalmologist. As a rule, most complications can be eliminated with conservative therapy or surgical interventions.

Rehabilitation period

The best way to increase the effectiveness of cataract surgery is to follow all instructions for rehabilitation after cataract surgery.

A few hours after the intervention, the patient can go home; it is better to do this accompanied by a loved one or acquaintance. The patient may be slightly drowsy due to the administration sedatives in small doses. For many people the effect of these medicines goes by quite quickly.

After surgery, each patient is prescribed eye drops that prevent infectious complications and speed up the healing process. They need to be used for about 4 weeks.

In the first 2-3 days after surgery, you should not overexert yourself.

During this period the patient may have:

• moderate pain in the operated eye;
• itching or watery eyes;
• blurred vision;
• feeling of sand in the eyes;
• mild headache;
• bruising around the eye;
• discomfort when looking at bright light.

It is normal to have these side effects during the early recovery period after cataract surgery. Painkillers (for example, Paracetamol or Ibuprofen) can help reduce pain, and sunglasses can help with increased photosensitivity.

Don't be alarmed if your vision seems blurry or distorted. Adaptation of the visual system to an artificial lens requires a certain time, the duration of which depends on the individual characteristics of each patient.

Typically, the person will have a follow-up visit to the doctor the day after surgery to make sure there are no complications. Full recovery takes approximately 4-6 weeks.

For safe and quick rehabilitation after lens replacement for cataracts, it is recommended:

• do not drive in the first few days;
• do not lift heavy objects and avoid intense physical activity for several weeks;
• There is no need to bend over immediately after surgery to prevent excess pressure on the eye;
• It is better to avoid using soap and shampoo;
• no need to apply makeup for 1 week;
• If possible, avoid sneezing or vomiting immediately after surgery;
• to reduce risk infectious complications Swimming should be avoided for the first few weeks;
• during the first weeks, exposure to various irritants such as dust, dirt or wind should be avoided;
• Do not rub your eyes or touch them.

To improve the effectiveness of the operation, patients need to carefully follow detailed instructions received from an ophthalmic surgeon. If any complications occur, you should immediately seek medical help.

Their symptoms in the early period of rehabilitation after cataract surgery are:

1. Throbbing or severe pain in the operated eye.
2. Severe headache with or without nausea and vomiting.
3. Sudden deterioration or loss of vision.
4. Increased redness of the eye
5. Sudden appearance of black dots, spots or streaks in the field of vision.

Restrictions after surgery:

Time after surgery

Allowed activity

1-2 days	The patient can get up, get dressed, walk around the house, and do light work. You can read and watch TV.
3-7 days	Everything moderate is allowed physical activity. You can drive a car if your vision level allows. You can't swim. Most patients can return to their jobs.
7-14 days	You can return to your normal level of daily activity except swimming.
3-4 weeks	Completion of the recovery period, discontinuation of use eye drops. During this period, vision should become better than before the operation. You can return to swimming and contact sports, but it is best to protect your eyes while doing so.

Surgery for cataracts is the only effective method treatment of this disease. As a rule, this is a short-term and safe procedure that is accompanied by a minimum of complications.

To optimize treatment results, prevent the development possible complications the patient needs to follow the doctor’s detailed recommendations for rehabilitation after cataract surgery.

Useful video about cataracts

We analyze the disease of the upper eyelid - ptosis

Have you ever observed a lack of symmetry in the arrangement of eyelids in friends or yourself? If one eyelid droops too much, or both, this may indicate the presence of the following disease.

Ptosis (from Greek word- falling) of the upper eyelid means its drooping. Normally healthy person the upper eyelid overlaps the iris by about 1.5 mm.

With ptosis, the upper eyelid droops by more than 2 mm. If ptosis is one-sided, then the difference between the eyes and eyelids is very noticeable.

Ptosis can occur in any person, regardless of gender and age.

Types of disease

The types of ptosis include:

• unilateral (appears in one eye) and bilateral (in both eyes);
• complete (the upper eyelid completely covers the eye) or incomplete (closes only partially);
• congenital and acquired (depending on the cause of occurrence).

The severity of ptosis is determined by how much the eyelid droops:

• 1st degree is determined when the upper eyelid covers the pupil from above by 1/3,
• 2nd degree - when the upper eyelid is lowered onto the pupil by 2/3,
• 3rd degree - when the upper eyelid almost completely hides the pupil.

The degree of visual impairment depends on the severity of ptosis: from a slight decrease in vision to its complete loss.

What can it be confused with?

The following pathologies of the visual organs can be mistakenly mistaken for ptosis:

• dermatochalasis, which causes excess skin upper eyelids represents the cause of pseudoptosis or ordinary ptosis;

• ipsilateral hypotrophy, which is expressed in drooping of the upper eyelid following the eyeball. If a person fixes his gaze with the hypotrophied eye, while covering the healthy eye, pseudoptosis will disappear;

• the eyelids are poorly supported by the eyeball due to a decrease in the volume of the orbital contents, which is typical for patients with false eyes, microphthalmos, phthisis of the eyeball and enophthalmos;

• contralateral eyelid retraction, which can be determined by comparing the levels of the upper eyelids. It should be taken into account that covering the cornea with the upper eyelid by two millimeters is the norm;

• brow ptosis, caused by excess skin in the brow area, which can occur with facial nerve palsy. This pathology can be determined by raising the eyebrow using your fingers.

Causes of the disease

Let us examine in detail the reasons for which ptosis occurs.

Innate

Congenital ptosis occurs in children due to underdevelopment or even absence of the muscle that should be responsible for raising the eyelid. Congenital ptosis sometimes occurs together with strabismus.

When ptosis treatment is not treated for a long time, the child may develop amblyopia (lazy eye syndrome). Congenital ptosis is most often unilateral.

Acquired

Acquired ptosis develops for several reasons and is divided into:

• aponeurotic ptosis, which is associated with the weakening or stretching of the aponeurosis of the muscle that should raise the upper eyelid. This type includes senile ptosis, which is one of the processes during natural aging of the body, ptosis that appears after eye surgery.
• neurogenic ptosis associated with damage to the nervous system after diseases (stroke, multiple sclerosis etc.) and injuries. Ptosis can appear with paralysis of the sympathetic cervical nerve, since it is the muscle that innervates the eyelid levator. Along with ptosis, constriction of the pupil (or miosis) and retraction of the eyeball (or enophthalmos) occur. A syndrome that combines these symptoms is called Horner's syndrome.
• with mechanical ptosis, the cause is mechanical damage to the eyelid foreign bodies. Athletes are at risk because eye injuries are quite common.
• false ptosis (apparent ptosis), which appears with excess skin folds on the upper eyelid, as well as hypotonia of the eyeball.

Determine the cause of ptosis - important task doctor, since the surgical treatment of acquired and congenital ptosis is significantly different.

An interesting fragment from the program “Live Healthy” about ptosis of the upper eyelid

Symptoms of the disease

One of the main manifestations of ptosis is a directly drooping upper eyelid.

Highlight following symptoms ptosis:

• inability to blink or close the eye completely,
• irritation of the eyes due to the fact that there is no way to close them,
• increased eye fatigue for the same reason
• possible double vision due to decreased vision,
• the action becomes common when a person sharply throws his head back or tenses his forehead and eyebrow muscles in order to open his eye as much as possible and lift the drooping upper eyelid,
• strabismus and amblyopia may occur if treatment is not started on time.

Diagnosis of the disease

When identifying a drooping eyelid, which is noticeable even with the naked eye, doctors need to determine the cause of the disease in order to prescribe treatment.

The ophthalmologist measures the height of the eyelid, studies the symmetry of the position of the eyes, eye movements, and the strength of the muscle that should raise the eyelid. When diagnosing, be sure to pay attention to the possible presence of amblyopia and strabismus.

In those patients who have acquired ptosis during life, the muscles that lift the eyelid are quite elastic and elastic, so they can completely close the eye when their gaze is lowered.

With congenital ptosis, the eye cannot close completely even with maximum gaze lowering, and the upper eyelid makes movements of very small amplitude. This often helps diagnose the cause of the disease.

The importance of determining the cause of ptosis is that with congenital and acquired ptosis, different areas are affected visual analyzer(in congenital ptosis, the muscle that lifts the eyelid is directly, and in acquired ptosis, its aponeurosis). Accordingly, the operation will be performed on different parts of the eyelid.

Treatment of the disease

Neither congenital nor acquired ptosis goes away on its own over time and always requires surgical operation. It is better to start treatment as early as possible to increase the chances of maintaining vision, because ptosis is not only an aesthetic and cosmetic defect.

The operation is performed by an ophthalmic surgeon under local anesthesia, with the exception of children, sometimes under general anesthesia. The operation takes from half an hour to 2 hours.

Until surgery is scheduled, you can hold the eyelid open during the day with an adhesive tape to prevent strabismus or amblyopia in children.

If acquired ptosis appears due to some disease, then in addition to the ptosis itself, it is necessary to simultaneously treat the provoking disease.

For example, with neurogenic ptosis, the underlying disease is treated, UHF procedures, galvanization are prescribed, and only if there is no result - surgical treatment.

The operation to eliminate acquired ptosis is carried out as follows:

• remove a small strip of skin from the upper eyelid,
• then the orbital septum is cut,
• cut the aponeurosis of the muscle, which should be responsible for raising the upper eyelid,
• the aponeurosis is shortened by removing part of it and sutured to the cartilage of the eyelid (or tarsal plate) just below,
• The wound is sutured with a continuous cosmetic suture.

During surgery to eliminate congenital ptosis, the surgeon’s actions are as follows:

• also remove a thin strip of skin from the eyelid,
• cut the orbital septum,
• isolate the muscle itself, which should be responsible for raising the eyelid,
• carry out muscle plication, i.e. put several stitches on it to shorten it,
• The wound is sutured with a cosmetic continuous suture.

When congenital ptosis of the upper eyelid is severe, the levator palpebral muscle is attached to the frontalis muscle, thereby the eyelid will be controlled by tension of the frontalis muscles.

When the operation is completed, a bandage is applied to the operated eyelid, which can be removed after 2-4 hours.

There is usually no pain during or after surgery. Sutures are removed 4-6 days after surgery.

Bruising, swelling and other effects of surgery usually disappear within a week. The cosmetic effect of the treatment remains unchanged for life.

Surgery to treat ptosis can cause the following side effects:

• pain in the eyelid area and decreased sensitivity;

• incomplete closure of the eyelids;

• dry eyes;

These symptoms in most cases disappear on their own within a few weeks after surgery and do not require any treatment. Some patients may experience subtle asymmetry of the upper eyelids, inflammation and bleeding postoperative wound. The cost of surgery to treat ptosis in Russian clinics ranges from 15 to 30 thousand rubles.

Seeing the world is an important value given by nature. But, in addition to congenital vision problems, there may also be acquired disorders that affect visual function in a far from positive way. So, why does vision deteriorate? There can be a lot of reasons; naturally, it will not be possible to cover everything, and besides, the disruption of any processes in the body is individual. We can only describe the most common problems, and most importantly, look at methods of prevention, treatment, and, if possible, correction or restoration of vision.

Causes

Age-related changes (after 40)

Indeed, the fact that the lens deforms over time has long been proven. Therefore, people after 40 may notice worsening vision or unusual symptoms. Usually the deformation occurs in the direction of farsightedness. A person who previously had 100% vision may, after 40 years of age, notice how distant objects are more clearly visible than near ones.

In particular, such changes are more likely if a person has experienced high nervous tension and mental stress throughout his life. But changes in the direction of myopia more often appear if there has been a lot of stress on the eyes during life. For example, vision may deteriorate towards “-” in jewelers, writers, photographers, designers - in people whose activities directly depend on visual strain, especially if this is reinforced nervous tension associated with high responsibility.

Avoid such age-related changes after 40 it’s almost impossible. But it's worth warning. To do this, it is advisable to periodically take a course of eye vitamins. They can be used in drops or in tablets and capsules. Taking retinol (vitamin A) in the form of fish oil. It is harmless and improves eye function. Periodic special gymnastics for the eyes is also often recommended. It consists of properly tensing and relaxing the eye muscles, which will subsequently strengthen them.

It is also very important to monitor your diet, consume more plant components, and at least load your body with fried, salty, and spicy foods. Use safety glasses if necessary. By the way, this applies not only to the sun. Special anti-reflective glasses are also recommended for working at a computer.

One more important point is a dream. It is its deficiency that can very often cause deterioration general condition, weakness and, as a result, deterioration of the eye condition. Healthy sleep It may not be too long, the main thing is that it must be of high quality. It has been proven that 5-6 hours of quality sleep is much more effective than 8-10 of uncomfortable sleep. Therefore, it is better to create all the conditions in your youth so that after 40 the problem with vision does not become too acute.

Diabetes

The second cause of vision impairment is diabetes. In general, this metabolic disease is very complex, largely because it is unknown on which processes or which parts human body it will have an impact.

Diabetes mellitus is the inability to independently process glucose, as a result of which excess sugar leads to the formation of blood clots and problems with blood vessels. Since the eyes are an organ penetrated by tiny vessels, very often vision deterioration accompanies diabetes. In this case, naturally, constant monitoring by a specialist will be important. Only then can you properly maintain your vision and well-being. Continuous monitoring of blood glucose levels is also recommended.

Manifestations that lead to deterioration of vision in diabetes are called retinopathy. In this case, the smallest hemorrhages are also possible; the required amount of oxygen ceases to flow to the retina due to problems with the blood vessels. There are several symptoms of retinopathy in diabetes:

• A sharp deterioration in vision, the appearance of a veil before the eyes.
• Discomfort; at a certain angle, black dots and spots may appear before the eyes.
• Very rapid eye fatigue when reading and focusing at close range.

In this case, consultation with a doctor is required. It will be important correct treatment and the use of drugs that will not react with insulin or other means of maintaining glucose metabolism in the body.

After anesthesia

This is rather a temporary manifestation of visual impairment. Usually, vision is restored within a few hours after anesthesia. This may not happen only in extremely rare cases, if the anesthesia was done incorrectly or tissues affecting the function of the eyes were damaged during surgery.

Usually after local anesthesia There is no visual impairment observed at all. In general, it is very important correct use drugs (dosage) and time spent under anesthesia.

After anesthesia, vision is usually restored gradually. You need to be prepared for this. Often a person may experience hallucinations even after the drugs wear off. Therefore, it is best to consult a doctor about this before surgery. Then recovery from anesthesia will not be scary.

After childbirth

More precisely, even during pregnancy, vision deterioration may occur. This may be due to a lack of vitamins or hormonal changes in the body. In the first case, in order to avoid going to the ophthalmologist for glasses after childbirth, you should take special complex vitamins for pregnant women. Then intrauterine development the fetus will be safer, and many unpleasant symptoms in the mother can be avoided.

After childbirth, a temporary deterioration in vision is sometimes also noticed. This is usually due to extreme stress during the process. In this case, vision is restored within a day or two.

And in conclusion, a few words about prevention: it is best to consult an ophthalmologist and start taking eye vitamins. There will be no harm from them correct intake, but the benefits will be noticeable in later life.

The necessity and justification of general anesthesia is no longer in doubt. In the surgical sector of medicine, general anesthesia is as necessary as air. In addition, this method is used by dentists in particularly unpleasant situations, gynecologists (for some pathologies), as well as doctors of many other specialties.

General anesthesia is definitely necessary, but do not forget that loss of consciousness through drug-induced stunning of the nervous system is a critical situation for the body, which has a number of side effects and complications.

That is why there is a very difficult medical specialty - anesthesiologist.

Before administering anesthesia, the doctor talks in detail about the main risks and side effects. As a rule, the patient is introduced to typical complications, as well as individual risks associated with age, pathologies of the cardiovascular system, oncological pathology, etc.

Nausea after anesthesia

Nausea is the most common side effect

The most common side effect after anesthesia. Occurs in every third case. Of course, with local (regional) anesthesia this complication is much less common.

There are some general principles to help reduce the likelihood of nausea after anesthesia:

• Don’t rush to get up after surgery, much less run somewhere. Your body does not know that you are an important busy person, it only understands that it was first stunned with chemicals, and now for some reason they are shaking it. As a result, you may vomit at the most inopportune moment;
• Do not drink or eat for 3 hours after surgery;
• If you are worried about severe pain (the anesthetic was titrated incorrectly, for example), then you should not endure it - tell the nurse or doctor, because may vomit from pain;
• If nausea occurs, try to breathe deeply and slowly. Saturating tissues with oxygen reduces the risk of nausea.

Pain when swallowing or speaking and dry mouth

Pain when swallowing may occur after endotracheal anesthesia

After endotracheal anesthesia (the most popular type of general anesthesia), you may experience a sore throat, pain when swallowing or while talking. These are the consequences of not entirely successful intubation. This is usually associated with the anatomical characteristics of the patient, and less often with the negligence of the anesthesiologist. This kind of pain goes away within a few hours after anesthesia. Sometimes it takes 2-3 days for this side effect to disappear.

If after surgery the sore throat does not go away after 2 days, contact your doctor. Most likely, the tube injured the tracheal mucosa.

Headache after general anesthesia

Headache after anesthesia is more common in women

This complication occurs more often in women, especially in those prone to migraines and headaches in general. Medicines, stress on the body from the surgical procedure itself, the patient’s fears – there are plenty of reasons for vascular spasm and headaches.

This type of headache goes away within 2-3 hours after the procedure.

On the other hand, headache is a typical complication of spinal and epidural anesthesia, which the doctor should warn the patient about in such cases.

Dizziness can be due to a transient decrease in blood pressure, and also as a consequence of dehydration. Patients may also experience weakness, even to the point of fainting.

Stupor (impaired perception) after surgery

Confusion or stupor is a common side effect in older adults

Often found in elderly patients. After anesthesia, the nervous system experiences some difficulties in cleansing cells and restoring cognitive functions: memory temporarily deteriorates, and deviant behavior may occur. Fortunately, all these problems are temporary and gradually disappear (up to 2 weeks).

The causes of this kind of complications are associated both with the metabolic characteristics of the elderly and with the psychological trauma from the fact of the operation. An increased burden is also created by communicating with strangers in an unusual (frightening) environment.

During elective surgery in an elderly person, the severity of this complication can be reduced as follows:

• Try (if the disease allows) to lead an active lifestyle before surgery;
• If it is possible to carry out the manipulation under local anesthesia, do so;
• If you live with your family, try to agree with your doctor about returning home as quickly as possible after surgery;
• Check if you took the medications prescribed to you (for hypertension, for example), reading glasses and books (magazines, checkers, etc.) to the hospital;
• Do not drink alcohol before or after anesthesia.

Body tremors after surgery

Many patients experience severe tremors after emerging from anesthesia. This condition does not pose a danger to health, but it is quite annoying for the patient. Paroxysms of this kind last no more than half an hour. The type of anesthesia in this case does not matter - the reason is the cooling of the tissues during the operation (the individual characteristics of microcirculation, diabetes, and the patient play a role).

The only thing that can be done to prevent this condition is not to freeze before surgery (take warm clothes to the hospital in the cold season).

In some cases, the doctor is not informed about the patient’s allergic reactions. Sometimes the patient himself does not know that he has an allergy. For this reason, skin reactions may develop, manifested by itching, which should be reported to your doctor immediately. Often this kind of excess is caused by morphine and some other drugs used for anesthesia.

Itchy skin after anesthesia may be the result of an allergic reaction

Spinal pain after surgery

During spinal anesthesia, pain can be caused by a traumatic factor, so if you experience pain in the lumbar or any other part of the spine, tell your doctor. This is especially important in cases where back pain is combined with paresis or plegia of the limb (limited mobility).

The above case is a very rare complication. Most often, the back hurts because a person has been lying on a fairly hard surface of the operating table for some time, which, in combination with osteochondrosis, gives pain.

Lower back pain and other muscle pain are the result of using Ditilin

Muscle pain after anesthesia

Caused by the use of the drug Ditilin, which is actively used in urgent surgery (especially when the patient is not ready for surgery - a full stomach, etc.). All muscles hurt, especially the neck, shoulders, and abs.

The duration of “ditilin” pain does not exceed 3 days after anesthesia.

All subsequent complications are, fortunately, quite rare, but the doctor must take into account their possibility and be prepared for them.

Injury to lips, tongue or teeth during surgery

Injury to the tongue or teeth is a consequence not of anesthesia, but of its administration

These are, in fact, not the consequences of the anesthesia itself, but mechanical damage during its administration. Teeth are damaged, on average, in two out of 100,000 patients (carious, as a rule). Before general anesthesia, it is advisable to treat caries and stomatitis.

The tongue and lips are slightly damaged in one out of 20 patients; you need to be mentally prepared for this. All defects disappear without a trace within a week after anesthesia.

Postoperative pulmonary infection

Postoperative - a consequence of an infection

The infection enters the lungs due to tracheal intubation, trauma and infection of the mucous membrane, or due to an unsterile tube. In addition, the cause may be either the patient’s atypical anatomy of the respiratory tract, or an existing chronic disease of the respiratory system (chronic).

To reduce the risk of postoperative pneumonia, the following is recommended:

• We quit smoking one and a half months before the planned surgery;
• Bronchitis, tracheitis, laryngitis and sinusitis (if any) must be treated before endotracheal anesthesia;
• If it hurts to breathe after surgery, tell your doctor right away. Insufficiently active breathing increases the risk of infection, and hospital infection is the most “evil” one.

Waking up during an operation

It happens extremely rarely and is eliminated by anesthesiologists almost instantly. This kind of situation occasionally occurs with drug addicts, as well as people who constantly take powerful analgesics (cancer patients, for example).

The brain, getting used to the effect on certain centers, in this case needs a higher dose of analgesic.

If (purely hypothetically) you constantly take sleeping pills, strong painkillers, or are dependent on any chemical substances, it is in your best interests to tell the anesthesiologist about this.

There are three varieties of this condition:

• The patient wakes up during surgery and tries to move. Doctors react instantly by increasing the dose of analgesic substances. In this case, the patient does not have time to really wake up or feel pain;
• The patient wakes up, does not feel pain, and cannot move. A rather surreal situation, but the patient does not experience any discomfort (except psychological);
• The patient wakes up, cannot move, and feels pain. In this case, serious mental trauma may remain.

Nerve damage during spinal or epidural anesthesia

They are extremely rare. As a rule, such damage is temporary and goes away in a month or a month and a half maximum.

One in 50,000 patients will experience paralysis of one or two limbs after spinal or epidural anesthesia.

This condition occurs due to the following factors:

• The nerve was injured by the anesthesiologist himself during the puncture;
• The nerve was damaged by the surgeon during the relevant operation;
• The patient was placed in an incorrect position on the operating table, which led to nerve compression;
• As a result of the operation, tissue edema developed, compressing the nerve;
• The patient had severe diabetes or atherosclerosis, which significantly increases the likelihood of such a situation.

I would like to emphasize once again that the indications for anesthesia of this kind are vital, and the probability of disability is only 0.0002%.

Anaphylactic shock during surgery

It rarely develops, it can happen to anything. If you carefully study the instructions for any drug (not a dietary supplement), then there is definitely a complication - individual intolerance (allergic reactions to components, etc.). If such a situation develops during anesthesia (1 case in 15,000), the anesthesiologist copes with the situation in 95% of cases.

The remaining 5% of 0.00006% of patients die.

In short, a vanishingly small number of patients die from anaphylactic shock during anesthesia; there is no need to worry about this.

Photo gallery: rare complications during anesthesia

Dry cornea is a cause of damage when the patient awakens

Damage to the eyeball

Actually, no one touches the patient’s eyes during the operation; it’s just that some patients, due to certain physiological nuances, do not completely close their eyelids. The cornea dries out, and the eyelid itself can “stick” to it from the inside. When a person wakes up and tries to open his eye, the cornea is damaged. This manifests itself in the form of a dark dot on the damaged eye; over time, the condition goes away without additional therapeutic manipulations.

All taken together, the complications that anesthesia can cause are incomparable to the health benefits (including the ability to live in general) of the patient. Try to take into account the risk factors described above for postoperative complications and inform your doctor about them in a timely manner.

The anesthesia itself and all its components do not have any negative influence to the organ of vision. Short-term dizziness and the associated apparent deterioration of vision are of a different nature - these are symptoms of the central nervous system, and they are temporary. Among the consequences of general anesthesia in adults, there are sometimes complaints that vision has deteriorated. But upon examination it turns out that vision problems already existed.

Most often, patients after long-term anesthesia experience a feeling of “sand in the eyes.” This occurs when the eyelids do not completely cover the eyeball during anesthesia, and its outer layer (cornea) dries out. As a result, a small inflammatory process, which is very quickly eliminated with special eye drops, which contain vitamins and hydrocortisone. The fault lies with the staff administering the anesthesia. The doctor or nurse anesthetist should ensure that the eyes are completely closed.

Attention! The information on the site is presented by specialists, but is for informational purposes only and cannot be used for self-treatment. Be sure to consult your doctor!