PreOp Patient Education General Anesthesia 3

Most people understand that anesthesia is used to block the perception of pain - but anesthesia plays another, equally important role as well. Let me explain.

Anesthesia allows your surgical team to control - and to monitor - a wide range of natural physiological reflexes. As you know, all surgery involves cutting small amounts of skin or other tissue.

Your mind certainly knows the difference between a surgical incision and, for example, and an accidental cut. The problem is, that your body doesn't understand this difference. In fact, your body reacts pretty dramatically to anything it perceives to be a threat to your well-being.

Without anesthesia, a surgical incision would cause not only pain, but an increase in heart rate, changes in blood pressure and a whole host of other reflexive defense mechanisms which our bodies rely on for protection.

So it's important to realize that anesthesia is meant to calm and relax the mind and body in a general sense - not only to block pain but to control those natural defenses.

It's for that reason that the anesthesia you receive will probably include a sedative - either to relax you or to put you to sleep altogether.

Today, surgeons and anesthesiologists have a wide range of options for keeping you comfortable.

Pain is an alarm signal sensed by nerves and sent to the brain where it's interpreted and felt. All types of anesthesia work by interfering with the transmission or interpretation of that signal.


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What we call local anesthesia blocks the signal locally at the nerve where it begins - or somewhere along the nerve between the surgical field and the brain.

With local anesthesia, a region of your body is numbed - and you may receive a sedative - but usually, you remain awake.

If you're given general anesthesia that means that the brain's overall ability to interpret and remember pain has been interrupted.
If you're given general anesthesia that means that the brain's overall ability to interpret and remember pain has been interrupted.

For you, that means being asleep.

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