Are there risks with general anesthesia

When people have some serious diseases in their internal organs, such as tumors, organ necrosis, or the need for organ replacement, they must be treated through surgery, because surgery is very painful and people need anesthesia during surgery. In general, anesthesia is local anesthesia, but some special situations also require general anesthesia. So are there any risks in general anesthesia for surgery? Let's introduce it in detail below.

Any surgery, as long as it is invasive, is risky, and surgery under general anesthesia is no exception. Currently, the main risks of general anesthesia surgery include patient allergy to anesthetics, inability to wake up after surgery or taking a long time to wake up after surgery, the possible impact of anesthetics on the patient's brain and other unpredictable risks. It is recommended that you consider it carefully before making a decision, and pay attention to actively cooperate with the doctor at ordinary times.

After general anesthesia, you should pay attention to the following situations:

(1) In order to maintain a patent airway, all patients after general anesthesia should lie flat without a pillow. Vomiting often occurs after general anesthesia surgery. You should tilt your head to one side and clear vomit from your mouth in time to avoid aspiration.

(2) After returning to the ward, the patient should receive oxygen via nasal cannula or mask to prevent the occurrence of hypoxemia.

(3) Continue routine ECG monitoring. If there is excessive bleeding during the operation, hypotension is likely to occur after the operation. Additionally, oxygen saturation must be monitored continuously. An oxygen saturation lower than 90% indicates hypoxia and the nurse and doctor on duty must be called, otherwise the rescue will be delayed. Possible causes of upper airway obstruction are residual effects of anesthetics, laryngeal spasm, laryngeal edema or blockage of respiratory secretions, etc. It may also be related to the surgery itself. Neck surgery such as thyroid surgery and peritracheal surgery can cause recurrent laryngeal nerve damage or local bleeding that compresses the trachea and causes breathing difficulties, sometimes accompanied by laryngeal sounds.

(4) Incision pain or stimulation from the catheter inserted during surgery may lead to postoperative hypertension. Effective postoperative analgesia and symptomatic treatment are necessary.

(5) Others: Hoarseness, sore throat, muscle pain, myocardial infarction, pneumonia, and pulmonary embolism may occur. Monitoring for several hours or days after surgery is necessary to improve perioperative safety.

(6) Correct use of postoperative analgesia pump.