Coming soon...
a bibliography of resources for patients/readers who are interested in learning more about anesthesia than just "getting knocked out."
Anesthesia Providers
Anesthesiologists (M.D. & D.O.)
Anesthetists (C.R.N.A.)
Dental Anesthesia Providers (D.D.S. and D.M.D.)
Other Anesthesia-related Organizations
WHOOPS!!! This one's not for humans, but in case you stumbled across this page looking for information about your pet's care: American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologists (ACVA)
Reading Material -- Books
Sweeny, Frank, M.D. Anesthesia Fact Book: Everything You Need to Know Before Surgery. Perseus Books, 2003.
Ernst, Frederick W., and William G. Pace III. Now They Me Down To Sleep s.p., 1996.
Hill, A. J. The Patient's Guide to Anesthesia: Making the Right Choices. Kensington, 1999.
Brown, Robert C. Perchance to Dream: the Patient's Guide to Anesthesia. Burnham, 1981.
Surgery Fact Book
Reading Material -- Websites
Information for Patients
Anesthesia, Critical Care and Emergency Medicine on the Internet
Detailed/Scientific and Paraprofessional Links
Anesthesia Nursing and Medicine Page Mainly for nurse anesthetists, written by a nurse anesthetist.
The Laryngospasms: Essential Anesthesia Links and Medical Humour
MedNets: Anesthesia
Virtual Anesthesia Textbook Don't try this at home!
What You Need to Know and some Personal Experiences
IF YOU HAVE ANY ALLERGIES or ABNORMAL REACTIONS TO MEDICATION, tell every person who takes care of you, from the admitting clerk to the last doctor you see in the pre-anesthesia area or operating room. DO NOT assume that these people know you, have read your chart, or remember your particular situation. It's better to tell someone who doesn't need to know than to not remind someone who does. For example...
- Your doctor may order an antibiotic before or during surgery. Your anesthesiologist will probably give it intravenously. I don't want to get penicillin while I'm unconscious because I forgot to tell someone.
- Valium (diazepam) doesn't work for me; in fact, it has the opposite effect. No anesthesia provider wants to give a patient a sedative and have that patient try to jump off the operating table a minute later. I also didn't enjoy having a panic attack.
IF YOU HAVE HAD ANY PRIOR REACTIONS TO ANESTHESIA, even merely uncomfortable situations, tell your doctor. For example...
- I am also extremely sensitive to a drop in body temperature, so much so that I will wake up shivering so badly that I cannot breathe. When I told my anesthesiologist about this before my last surgery, he ordered extra blankets in the warmer before he put me under anesthesia. Although not every procedure allows for warming blankets, mine did; the result was that I woke comfortably and had one (yes, only one) shiver that I remember.
YOU HAVE A RIGHT to speak with your anesthesia provider before your surgery.
- S/he should see you before you are on the operating table, period. If you don't see an anesthesia professional before they insert an intravenous line, insist on talking to your doctor first.
- If that seems a hassle to the person you're talking with, keep insisting. It's important that your anesthesia provider meet you in person and perform some basic checks on your mouth and see how you are feeling mentally and physically before the surgery.
- Take as much time and ask as many questions as you need to. Don't feel intimidated as if you aren't worth the provider's time. They have to take care of you anyway, you might as well get your concerns addressed before you're in surgery and likely unable to communicate.
IF THEY SAY DON'T EAT BEFORE SURGERY, DON'T EAT.
- If you eat within the restricted time, no matter how long you've been waiting for surgery and how long/how much of an inconvenience it was for you to get to the hospital, they can send you home.
- Although some procedures are done under local or regional anesthesia, you still may be told not to eat within a certain time. Or, you could be permitted a light breakfast. In that case, put away the sausage and eggs; have a small bowl of oatmeal or cereal instead.
- Having an empty stomach helps you after surgery; you won't be as nauseated.
- The consequences of lying can be fatal. How fatal? How about drowning in your own vomit. Yuck. So...
- DON'T EAT if they say don't eat.