Anesthesia types
We apply all common, modern types of anesthesia. Skilled experts and a continuous quality management ensure the high quality of our medical specialist care.
Anesthesia types
General anesthesia
Patients receive the general anesthetics intravenously at the operating room after all necessary preparations have been finished. The sleep is induced only a few seconds after the injection and is normally perceived as a pleasant feeling.
The anesthesiologist supervises the whole surgery and is present at the operating room the whole time. If necessary, general anesthesia has to be adapted to the individual circumstances and to the course of action. This does also include applying additional vein catheters (especially a central venous catheter), arterial blood pressure measurement, a stomach probe or a urinary catheter.
We transfer patients to the recreation room surveilled by physicians. Here you stay until you can be transferred to the ward. This period lasts about 1-2 hours.
You will get an individual pain therapy after surgeryso that you will not have pain or that it will only slightly ache.
The individual pain management comprises a PCA pump (PCA – patient controlled anesthesia). This is a small infusion pump enabling you to inject painkilling drugs yourself directly into you vein cannula – overdose excluded. Based on our experiences, the PCA pump is only necessary within 24 hours after surgery. Pain therapy is then provided by orally taken pain killers.
Sedation (twilight sleep)
Sedation is the reduction of the sensation of the central nervous system by the targeted application of sleep, tranquilizing or painkilling drugs. The patient is in a sleep-like condition, but can also be waken or talked to at any time. The sedation is also often followed by a temporary lack of memory or retrograde amnesia. The retrograde (retroactive) amnesia creates the impression of having slept the whole time of the operation. This condition is regarded as very pleasant by most of our patients.
At Beta Klinik, we apply the sedation for several diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Analgo-sedation (regional anesthesia + sleep-inducing medicine), for example, is quite useful for patients suffering from claustrophobia while being examined in an MRI system.
Regional anesthesia
Regional anesthesia describes an anesthesia having only an effect on a certain area of the skin or the body. It can be applied singularly or in combination with general anesthesia. This is effective, for example, if postsurgical pain therapy has to be applied gently over several days. Knee replacement surgery or hip replacement surgery is a possible field of application.
During regional anesthesia, a small, very thin catheter is inserted through a cannula next to the nerve or nerve root (spine) that has to be anesthetized. This way, we can apply anesthetics in certain intervals without affecting the wakefulness of the patient negatively.
Strong painkillers like opiates are not necessary, and painkiller addiction is ruled out.
The following procedures of regional anesthesia are in use:
- spinal anesthesia
- epidural anesthesia
- plexus blocks
- peripheral nerve blocks
Spinal anesthesia
Spinal anesthesia is suitable to all operations below the navel. The spine is tapped and a regional anesthetic is injected by using the so-called single shot technique. The corresponding part of the body is completely anesthetized and insensitive to pain within a few minutes. This condition is limited to the duration of the surgery.
Epidural anesthesia
Epidural anesthesia is, similar to spinal anesthesia, limited to surgery below the navel. In contrast to spinal anesthesia, a small catheter is placed near the spinal nerves. This enables us to inject anesthetics several times when the end of its effectiveness is near. It is also no problem to leave the catheter there for several days. Such a catheter can be applied at every time, which does only cause small pain. Damage of the spinal nerves is extremely rare.
Plexus blocks (Anesthetizing a plexus)
Plexus blocks are applied if upper extremities are to be anesthetized, for example, hands, lower or upper arms. Plexus blocks are effective 6-8 hours. The anesthetic is almost painlessly applied via single shot/catheter technique like spinal anesthesia.
Peripheral nerve blocks
Peripheral nerve blocks are directed towards single nerves. The nerves are targeted with regional anesthetics and temporarily shut off. Peripheral nerve blocks are very common in postsurgical pain therapy after lower extremity (foot) surgery.
Postsurgical pain therapy
A special focus of the department of anesthesia and pain therapy is patient care beyond surgery. This is especially an individual pain therapy adapted to the patients’ needs in order to reduce their pain after surgery.
A very common method at our department is employing the so-called PCA pump. PCA stands for patient controlled anesthesia and enables you to inject painkilling drugs in your vein cannula by using an infusion pump – overdose excluded. Patients can then decide themselves if, when and how much painkillers they need.
Given small surgeries, the application of a strong painkiller at once or as a short infusion in combination with other drugs can be helpful.
A further postsurgical pain therapy is the epidural anesthesia, during which a small catheter is placed near the spinal nerves. This enables us to inject anesthetics several times when the end of its effectiveness is near. It is also no problem to leave the catheter there for several days. Such a catheter can be applied at every time, which does only cause small pain. Damage of the spinal nerves is extremely rare. Fields of applications are knee or hip replacement surgeries.