Anesthesia and Airway Management
General anesthesia is often used to provide general anesthesia for patients who have to go through a major surgical procedure. The process of temporarily paralyzing and making a patient unconscious comes with many serious risks. Many procedures can present more dangers than the surgery. One of the most important concerns when a patient has to have general anesthesia is to make sure that their body continues to receive oxygen.
When you consider the fact that it only takes four minutes for a patient without oxygen to experience "brain Death", it is obvious how important airway management can be. Soon thereafter, the patient will suffer cardiac arrest and ultimately die. A windpipe is usually inserted before surgery begins to protect the airway. However, there are risks associated with this procedure. Because the tubes are placed very close to one another, they can cause problems for their lungs if they go into their esophagus rather than their windpipe. While there are medical devices that can verify tubes aren't misplaced they are not available in every environment office based anesthesia.
A patient could suffer from airway trauma if multiple
unsuccessful attempts are made to insert the endotracheal tubes. The
patient will require emergency tracheotomy in order to prevent deadly hypoxia
(lackof oxygen) if the windpipe is swollen or becomes blocked by this
trauma. Ventilators are used to ensure that gas exchange is taking place
within the patient's own body. Incorrect airway management can result in
serious injury and death.
Since the inception of anesthetics, the medical community
has gained greater insight into the human effects. Anesthesia, even with
all the specialized equipment such as fiberoptic scopes and ventilators, is
still a dangerous field. It is crucial that medical professionals pay
close attention to patients in order to ensure that there are no complications
while they are unconscious. If they don't, or act negligently, the patient
could suffer severe injuries, or even death.
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