Anesthesia and Resuscitation

Anesthesia is a procedure applied during surgical operations to ensure that the patient does not feel any pain. In anesthesia, the absence of pain during the procedure is achieved through medications, preventing the patient from feeling any discomfort. The person responsible for determining this is the resuscitation specialist. Furthermore, minimizing the effects of anesthesia on the patient afterward and ensuring the preservation of vital functions are also the responsibilities of the resuscitation specialist.

Types of Anesthesia
Anesthesia has various types categorized as general, local, regional, and sedation applications. Let's take a closer look at these types.

What is General Anesthesia?
After general anesthesia, there is no damage to the person's life functions. Temporary loss of consciousness and disruptions in reflex activities may occur after this type of anesthesia. The consciousness loss during anesthesia eliminates all awareness of the ongoing surgery for the patient. It also completely eliminates pain, allowing the patient to undergo the operation more comfortably. Of course, ensuring the patient's current health during the operation is also the responsibility of the anesthesia specialist.

What is Regional Anesthesia?
In regional anesthesia, patients remain fully conscious. Only the sensation of the area where the surgery will take place is temporarily eliminated, allowing surgical procedures to be performed. This type of anesthesia is used in various surgical procedures, including childbirth. Patients do not feel any pain, even though they remain conscious during the surgery.

What is Spinal Anesthesia?
Spinal anesthesia is often preferred, especially in childbirth operations. This type of anesthesia numbs the person's lower back and its lower parts. Mothers, after a cesarean section, can hold their babies thanks to spinal anesthesia. An injection is made into the person's lower back during anesthesia. Numbness occurs from just below the chest, ensuring that the patient feels no pain. The mother remains conscious during childbirth and can hold her baby immediately after the operation.

What is Epidural Anesthesia?
Epidural anesthesia is a type of anesthesia where an injection is released into the epidural space through a thin injector called a catheter. The patient's numbness is achieved within about 15 minutes. This method is used during various surgical procedures, including normal and cesarean childbirth.

What is Local Anesthesia?
Local anesthesia is often confused with regional anesthesia. In local anesthesia, only the area where the procedure will be performed is numbed with anesthesia needles. It is used in various procedures such as tooth extraction, circumcision, dermatological procedures, and aesthetic interventions.

Who Performs Anesthesia Procedures?
Anesthesia procedures can only be performed by specialists who have received sufficient medical training in this field, such as anesthesia and resuscitation specialists. Anesthesia technicians and anesthesia nurses also assist the specialist during the surgery.

Who Performs Anesthesia Procedures?
The risk of anesthesia varies from patient to patient and depends on factors such as additional illnesses, age, and weight. Every patient's individual risk situation is assessed by the anesthesia specialist. Before the anesthesia procedure, a vein is opened for the patient. Subsequently, the monitoring of the patient's vital functions such as heart, respiration, and blood pressure is ensured. In the next stage, general anesthesia is applied to the patient using only the drugs determined by the anesthesia specialist. After all necessary precautions for anesthesia are taken and with the approval of the anesthesia specialist, the surgical process begins. To maintain anesthesia, additional medications are administered to the patient either through the respiratory system or intravenously. When the surgery is finished, the patient is properly awakened by the anesthesia specialist. Lastly, the patient taken to the recovery room is kept under observation until consciousness, blood pressure, respiration, and body temperature return to normal levels. Afterward, the patient is transferred to their room.Necessary precautions are taken to ensure the patient's comfort.