Journalism of Courage
What scares you the most about surgery? The pain,the intimadating interiors of a hospital,or is it the needle and the scalpel and other paraphernalia? Or some unfortunate people,the reality of surgery came in the form of being wake and conscious throughout the procedure. Forty-one year old Sheela Kumar’s tryst with the surgeon’s knife left her petrified for many years to come. The operation was a simple surgery to remove a scar tissue from an ankle injury. But it turned into a horrendous experience for Kumar when she realised that she was able to feel everything despite being anaesthetized!
What Kumar experienced is a phenomenon called intra-operative awareness during anesthesia. It’s something that happens when the effect of the anaesthetic agents,responsible for inducing no awareness during a surgical process,either are not good enough or have worn off while the operation is in progress. It could also be that inadequate anaesthesia was administered to the patient during the surgery.
Intra-operative awareness is obviously a terrible complication,and clearly we need to do everything we can to prevent it,” says Santh. The medical community is aggressively addressing intra-operative awareness,but there are things that even the patients should do to limit their risk . First of all,listing down all medications before surgery as some might make your body metabolize things more quickly. One also needs to give a brief account of family history and medical risk factors and especially the addiction habits if any.
Now,monitors like BIS (biospectral index stimulator) and entropy monitor are available to assess the depth of anesthesia. Incidence of awareness can be made six sigma compliant through effective training of anesthethesiologists,availability of new monitors,awareness amongst doctors,public,hospital managers and adequate legislation. Prior to surgery,the anesthesiologist should evaluate the patient’s medical condition and formulate an anesthetic plan,taking that patient’s physical condition into account. It is vital that the anaesthesiologist knows as much about your medical history,lifestyle,and medications as possible.
Once the surgery is scheduled,one should not forget to find out who will be your anesthesiologist. It is wise to find out about their credentials,training,and safety record. It could be the most important research you do to protect your safety when undergoing any surgical procedure.
