Anesthesiologists are the doctors who monitor an unconscious patient’s health during surgery, ensuring their safety and comfort. In fact, theirs is the last face that the patient will see before they become unconscious for surgery. They are the ones who ensure that the patient does not wake up during surgery: imagine being conscious for the surgery, it would be highly painful and distressing. That is why when searching for medical assistance, it is of vital importance to look for the best anesthesiologist hospital in cities like Bangalore.
Like all other fields of modern medicine, anesthesiology has undergone many changes from using laughing gas and ether anesthesia for making a patient unconscious, to the more modern medicines for inhalational anaesthetics to intravenous agents. To understand the role of best anesthesiologists in Bangalore, we must understand this branch of medicine.
What is Anesthesiology?
Anesthesiology is the branch of medicine that specialises in patient care during minor as well as major surgeries. The anesthesiologist will administer anaesthesia to the patient who has to undergo surgery. Once the patient has become unconscious, the anesthesiologist works with the operating doctor to ensure the patient’s vital signs remain stable.
Understanding Anaesthesia
According to medical dictionaries, “Anaesthesia is a controlled, temporary state of unconsciousness induced by medicines.” As mentioned above, it is administered to prevent pain and awareness during a surgical procedure or intervention.
The Role of Anesthesiologists during Surgery
The role of the best anesthesiologists in Bangalore will vary as per how the drugs are administered.
General anaesthesia: Patients are put into a deep sleep like state for major heart, brain, abdominal, liver, kidney, joint replacement and many more. The patients are unconscious throughout the procedure and will wake up with no recollection of what happened. They are unable to move, talk or feel any sensation during the whole time.
Role:
- Prepares and administers the anesthesiology drugs
- Monitors all the vital life signs
- Helps to control and regulate breathing
- Adjusts anaesthetic depth to ensure the patient sleeps safely
- Manages complications that arise due to surgical stress
- Wakes the patients and checks vital signs
Since the patient is immobile, the anesthesiologists will stay with the patient throughout the procedure to monitor their vital signs. They are part of the team of doctors who do not leave the operating room.
Regional anaesthesia: In this type of anaesthesia, large parts of the patient’s body will be numbed to block pain. Since the brain does not receive pain receptors, the patient can stay awake. However, in most of these surgeries, the best anesthesiology hospital will encourage that the patient be sedated to ensure they do not get agitated during the procedure as this can lead to stress, which can impact vital signs like blood pressure and heart rate.
Role:
- Numbs the body surface area with precision
- Monitors all vital life signs
- Provide sedation to the patients that require to be sedated
- Ensures the block is numb at all times
- Is ready to put patient under general anaesthesia if the need arises
Patient will not be able to move or feel the numbed area during the entire procedure, and is used for orthopedic surgeries, cesearean sections and natural childbirth, abdominal or lower limb surgeries, and more. It is usually administered as spinal anaesthesia or epidural anaesthesia. The best anesthesiologists in Bangalore will stay with the patient through the procedure.
Local anaesthesia: This type of anaesthesia will numb only that area of the body which has to undergo surgery. A small, specific area is numbed, and the patient is usually awake during the procedure.
Role:
- Will assess the patient’s safety for the local anaesthetic
- Will put patient under regional or general anaesthesia if the need arises
This category is usually administered to the medical intervention site via cream, injection or spray. It is used for minor surgeries like stitches, mole removal, eye surgery, tooth extraction.
Why is Anesthesiology Important for All Surgeries
The patient’s skin, muscles, bones, veins and many other essential organs and parts are cut, sutured or touched during a medical procedure. Even a small knife cut on the hand is painful, so just imagine the pain the patient will suffer, if awake. Hence, anesthesiology is a recognised medical science requiring five years of study to be an MBBS, followed by a two-year specialisation in anesthesiology.
Here is why an anesthesiologist’s presence is important for all surgeries:
- Study the patient’s history and charts to determine the best course of action pre, during and after surgery.
- Balance sedation and stability from the beginning to the end
- Always alert during the whole procedure, as the status of the patient may change at any point, requiring their intervention
- Provide post-surgery care for pain management, if required
NOTE: Pain management after surgery is also one of the important roles of an anesthesiologist, helping to customise pain medication.
Advancements in Anesthesiologists
The field has seen many advancements in anesthesiology and best anaesthesia hospitals will adopt all technological advancements like:
- Using drugs like remimazolam which has a fast onset and offset, and the hangover effect is comparatively shorter than drugs used traditionally
- Introduction of artificial intelligence in monitoring allows the doctor to foresee blood ciculation instabilities, blood pressure distress and more
- Monitor drug delivery in real-time for improving patient care
- Allowing the doctors to maintain the correct depth of the drugs administered for anaesthesia
- Modern ultrasounds and other monitoring devices to make nerve blocks precise and extremely safe
Conclusion
Today, modern surgery is not possible without anesthesiology, and the top anesthesiology hospitals ensure that surgeons and anesthesiologists work together to provide the highest level of patient care.