Risks | General Anesthesia

Risks

General anesthesia is a major intervention in the normal processes of the body and therefore also offers some risks. One risk with general anesthesia is a potentially difficult ventilation situation. This means that the supply of oxygen is not guaranteed.

Also reactions of the cardiovascular system to the anaesthesia are possible and occur especially in persons with previous illnesses. In principle, the risks of general anesthesia depend on previous illnesses, age and general condition of the patient. Due to modern monitoring technology, serious consequences of anaesthesia and death from anaesthesia are becoming increasingly rare and currently amount to about 0.008%.

High-risk anaesthesia is especially emergency anaesthesia, as no detailed anaesthesia planning is possible and the patient is usually not fasting. Slighter side effects of anaesthesia, such as sore throat, hoarseness and nausea are relatively common and usually go away by themselves. This is also true for the passage syndrome, a postoperative confusion which particularly affects older patients.

Aftermath

The after-effects of general anesthesia are not as drastic today as they used to be. The modern anaesthetics can be dosed much more easily and in lower doses, so that the treated patients are fit again significantly faster after waking up than before the anaesthesia. The duration of the side effects and after-effects of anesthesia are therefore usually only of short duration.

This is due to the fact that in the past, only anaesthetic gases were used, which had to be dosed very highly in order to relax the muscles. Nowadays, separate drugs are administered intravenously for muscle relaxation, so that the anaesthetic drugs have to be dosed less heavily. Although nausea after anaesthesia has become less frequent, this after-effect is still relevant today.

Most common are irritated throat and strained vocal cords, which can be attributed to the breathing tube used during anesthesia, which is pushed into the trachea past the vocal cords. However, this feeling usually improves within a few hours after the operation. General confusion and drowsiness is also normal after general anesthesia, but improves relatively quickly after the procedure.

It is important to note that after general anesthesia, the use of heavy equipment, and thus driving a car, is not allowed due to the drugs used. During general anesthesia the brain is under considerable stress. In about one third of those operated on, a state of confusion after general anesthesia, especially with anesthetic gases, occurs after general anesthesia.

However, in most cases this regresses within hours to days. Elderly people and people who have already had a stroke or a circulatory disorder of the brain have a higher risk for these consequences. In rare cases, dementia can develop permanently.

Furthermore, a study has shown that children who have had a general anaesthetic before their first birthday have a worse average memory performance than their non-operated peers. For intubation, the laying of the breathing tube, the anesthetist uses a metal spatula to lift the lower jaw and tongue. This is necessary to gain free access to the trachea.

A light effort is required to do this. If this spatula slips off or is incorrectly levered, it can hit the teeth and cause damage to the teeth. Even when the intubation set is used correctly, this sometimes cannot be prevented, since the focus is on the ventilation situation of the patient.

For prevention, silicone splints can be placed between the teeth and the spatula. During general anesthesia the patient does not breathe on his own. This task is performed by a ventilator, which is monitored by the anesthetist.

For this ventilation, a ventilation tube is inserted into the trachea during most general anesthesia. This breathing tube must be passed through the glottis and can irritate the vocal chords and the entire pharyngeal mucosa. Therefore, sore throat and hoarseness are frequent but short-lasting consequences of general anesthesia.