Duration of short anaesthesia with Propofol

Propofol is an easily controlled narcotic. In general, short anaesthesia means sedation of the patient for up to 15 minutes. Depending on the procedure, Propofol can be given calculated so that a sedating effect of 10 minutes is not exceeded.

However, protracted major operations can also be performed under Propofol. Long and difficult heart operations or complicated intestinal operations can sometimes take up to 8 hours or more. Propofol is also the narcotic of choice here.

After the induction of narcosis, which is carried out with a dose of 1-2 mg/kg body weight, a maintenance dose of 12 mg per kg body weight is required to maintain the patient’s sleeping state. The anaesthetist is in close contact with the surgeon. Shortly before the operation is completed, the supply of propofol is switched off.

The body begins to drain the drug. As soon as the dose in the body falls below a certain limit, the patient slowly wakes up. Theoretically, Propofol could be used to maintain anesthesia for several days, but in practice it is mostly used for procedures lasting up to a maximum of 30 minutes, such as colonoscopies (colonoscopy) or gastroscopy (gastroscopy).

Costs of a short anaesthesia with Propofol

It is difficult for us to make a general statement about the costs of a short anaesthetic with Propofol. The total price is made up of many individual factors, such as the self-paying portion, the duration of the anesthesia, the billing rate of the treating practice, etc. For example, dental practices give a guideline value of about 120€ for an anesthesia for dental treatment, while the costs for scrapings can be both below and above this.In most cases, short anaesthesia with Propofol is an additional service that is not or only partially covered by health insurance companies, as the same procedure could also be performed with a local anaesthetic, which is cheaper to use. In individual cases – if anesthesia with Propofol is the less risky option – the costs are also covered in full by health insurance. It is therefore always worth asking.