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Heitmiller, Eugenie. "How Anesthesia Works." 01 April 2000. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://health.howstuffworks.com/anesthesia.htm> 09 May 2008.
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The Anesthesiologist
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The Anesthesiologist
To become an anesthesiologist, a person must complete college, medical school, an internship and a three-year anesthesiology residency (see How Becoming a Doctor Works). An anesthesiologist is a physician who specializes in anesthetic administration, pain relief, and the care of patients before, during, and after surgery. The anesthesiologist monitors vital organ functions including heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and blood-oxygen saturation during surgery.
 Photo courtesy Department of Defense: Defense Visual Information Center The are various monitors on an anesthesia machine. |
Prior to the day of surgery, you may meet your anesthesiologist. Most of the time, you meet on the day of surgery. Your anesthesiologist may ask several questions about your medical history. This information is important in determining which type of anesthesia you should receive. Your anesthesiologist can answer any questions you have about the side effects caused by anesthesia. Children receive the same anesthetics for surgery as adults, but the doses of the injected anesthetics are determined by the child's weight.
My patients are often small children who are not happy about seeing a doctor. Their parents or guardians are usually very anxious about the anesthesia. A large part of my job before surgery is explaining the anesthetic plan and reassuring the parents or guardians by answering questions about what is about to happen to their child. Children may be given the sedative, midazolon, before they are anesthetized. This is often in the form of a cherry-flavored drink. After about 10 minutes, the children are smiling and don't mind coming to the operating room with one of their parents or guardians. They usually don't remember it either. In the operating room, the child receives the anesthetic either by breathing a gas through a mask or by an injection. After the child is asleep, the parents or guardians leave and the child's safety is in the anesthesiologist's hands.
While the child is anesthetized, blood pressure is closely monitored with a blood pressure cuff, the heart rate and rhythm with an electrocardiogram (also known as an EKG), the child's breathing, temperature, and the saturation of oxygen in the blood with a special machine called a pulse oximeter. These vital signs are used to help determine the depth of anesthesia. In addition, there is a monitor that can measure the depth of anesthesia using brain waves. However, the most important part of the monitoring is done by the anesthesiologist watching the patient.
After the surgery, the patient goes to the recovery room for constant monitoring until he or she awakens. Then the patient is ready to be discharged from the recovery room. The doctor assigns the patient to a hospital bed or discharges the patient if it is outpatient surgery. Sometimes, the patient goes to an intensive care unit after surgery. Anesthesiologists, who specialize in intensive care, often take care of patients in the intensive care unit as well.
For more information on anesthesia and related topics, check out the links on the next page.
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Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this How Stuff Works article:
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