THE TOP 20 DOCTORS IN THE HISTORY OF ANESTHESIA
How did our specialty advance from prescribing patients two shots of whiskey to administering safe modern anesthesia? In chronologic order, my choices for the…
Tag: general anesthesia
CLINICAL CASES FOR ANESTHESIA PROFESSIONALS
CARDIAC ARREST DURING A PEDIATRIC TONSILLECTOMY
A 12-year-old boy and his mother walk into a surgery center. The child is scheduled for a tonsillectomy, and is otherwise healthy. The anesthesiologist…
ANESTHESIA PATIENT QUESTIONS BLOG
HOW LONG DOES GENERAL ANESTHESIA LAST?
“I’m going to have surgery to have my gall bladder out. How long will the anesthesia last?” The query “How long does general anesthesia…
ANESTHESIA PATIENT QUESTIONS BLOG
WILL YOU HAVE A BREATHING TUBE DOWN YOUR THROAT DURING YOUR SURGERY?
One of the most common questions I hear from patients immediately prior to their surgical anesthetic is, “Will I have a breathing tube down…
ANESTHESIA PATIENT QUESTIONS BLOG
THE TOP 10 MOST STRESSFUL JOBS IN AMERICA versus THE TOP 10 MOST STRESSFUL SITUATIONS IN ANESTHESIOLOGY PRACTICE
Anesthesia has been described as 99% boredom and 1% panic. Is anesthesiology one of America’s most stressful jobs? Not according to prominent Internet media…
ANESTHESIA PATIENT QUESTIONS BLOG
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE ME TO WAKE UP FROM GENERAL ANESTHESIA?
One of the most frequent questions I hear from patients before surgery is, “How long will it take me to wake up from general…
CLINICAL CASES FOR ANESTHESIA PROFESSIONALS
THE EBOLA VIRUS, ANESTHESIA, AND SURGERY
A patient infected with the Ebola virus is admitted to your hospital’s intensive care unit. You are called to intubate the Ebola patient for…
ANESTHESIA PATIENT QUESTIONS BLOG
WHAT ONE QUESTION SHOULD YOU ASK TO DETERMINE IF A PATIENT IS ACUTELY ILL?
What one question should you ask to determine whether a patient has a serious medical problem? What one question must you ask to determine…
ANESTHESIA PATIENT QUESTIONS BLOG
SHOULD PHYSICIANS BE TESTED FOR DRUGS AND ALCOHOL?
An 60-year-old man has a heart attack in the middle of an emergency abdominal surgery at 11:00 pm and dies two hours later. Should…
CLINICAL CASES FOR ANESTHESIA PROFESSIONALS
HERBAL MEDICINES, SURGERY, AND ANESTHESIA
An otherwise healthy 50-year-old female patient takes three herb pills daily: gingko, kava, and ginseng. What do you do when this patient needs elective…
CLINICAL CASES FOR ANESTHESIA PROFESSIONALS
SUCCINYLCHOLINE: VITAL DRUG OR OBSOLETE DINOSAUR?
Succinylcholine: vital drug or dinosaur? Succinylcholine (sux) has the wonderful advantage of rendering a patient paralyzed in less than a minute, and the discouraging…
CLINICAL CASES FOR ANESTHESIA PROFESSIONALS
HOW TO SCREEN OUTPATIENTS PRIOR TO SURGERY
Screening prior to outpatient surgery is important. Over 70% of elective surgeries in the United States are ambulatory or outpatient surgeries, in which the…