Advantages with anaesthesia

One advantage of performing a colonoscopy under anaesthesia is clearly that one does not notice anything of the relatively unpleasant examination. A colonoscopy can certainly cause discomfort and sometimes pain. For example, air is blown into the intestine to allow the intestinal wall to unfold.

This can be perceived as an unpleasant feeling. In addition, moving the endoscope can cause pain for the patient. As this is also a short anaesthetic, which puts the patient into a deep sleep, the side effects are relatively minor and complications are very rare.

Many patients also report that falling asleep and waking up under Propofol is perceived as pleasant. Finally, there is another advantage that benefits both the examiner and the patient: the sedation makes the patient relaxed and does not make him/her tense. As a result, colonoscopy with anaesthesia is in itself easier for the doctor to perform and is over for the patient more quickly.

Disadvantages with anaesthesia

For legal reasons, patients who have received an anaesthetic are not allowed to actively participate in public transport for 24 hours. It is also possible that patients may still feel a little dizzy after the anaesthetic. This feeling can be felt all day long and can therefore also influence and restrict mental activities.

In addition, the patient must be picked up by an accompanying person after the colonoscopy under anaesthesia, which is not necessary without anaesthesia. Furthermore, although the sedation is only very light and has relatively few side effects, risks are still possible. Propofol reduces the workload of the heart and slows down breathing.

Excessive administration may therefore lead to cardiac arrest. As a result of reduced breathing, the oxygen content in the blood may drop and make it necessary to administer oxygen. In the worst and very rare case, respiratory arrest can also occur. Cardiac arrest and respiratory arrest would mean that artificial respiration and resuscitation would have to take place. However, these complications occur very, very rarely.

Is it possible to drive a car after a colonoscopy with anesthesia?

The anaesthesia for a colonoscopy is almost always carried out with Propofol. Although this is a narcotic (= anaesthetic) with a short duration of action, which puts the patient into a deep sleep, there may still be limitations on the patient’s ability to react after waking up. These limitations can still occur 24 hours after administration. For this reason, patients should be picked up by an accompanying person and should not drive a car or participate actively in public transport until the next day.

Costs for an anaesthetic

For patients with statutory health insurance, a colonoscopy is free of charge from the age of 55 years. A further colonoscopy after another 10 years is also paid for by the statutory health insurance companies. If a patient has an increased risk of colon cancer, for example due to a family predisposition, or if a patient has symptoms that could be explained by a disease of the colon, the statutory health insurance will pay for a colonoscopy even before the age of 55. If the patient requests a short anaesthetic, or medication to calm down or relieve pain, no additional costs are incurred.