In contrast to general anaesthesia, only a certain area of the body is anaesthetized under partial or regional anaesthesia. In this region, the perception of pain, sensation and sometimes the ability to move is eliminated with the help of various procedures. For minor procedures, partial anesthesia alone may be sufficient.
For larger, more extensive procedures, it can be combined with general anesthesia. Depending on the intervention, the anaesthetist (anaesthetist) can use different methods of partial anaesthesia. For example, infiltration/surface anaesthesia (“local anaesthesia”), blockage of peripheral nerves (conduction anaesthesia), procedures near the spinal cord (epidural/epidural anaesthesia, spinal anaesthesia or combined procedures) or intravenous regional anaesthesia.
Reasons for partial anesthesia
Partial anesthesia is used for the treatment of pain during and after surgery or in obstetrics. In particular, it is becoming increasingly important in pain therapy during and after surgery. Reasons for partial anesthesia are, for example, operations that do not necessarily have to be performed under general anesthesia, the patient’s rejection of general anesthesia or a high risk during the operation in patients with severe pre-existing conditions.
If operations are performed that require the patient’s cooperation during the procedure, partial anesthesia is also necessary, since consciousness and, if necessary, mobility is maintained. For patients who do not fast, local or regional anesthesia is also preferable, since the protective reflexes are preserved (cough reflex etc.). Thus the risk of stomach contents running back and getting into the trachea/lung (aspiration) is much lower.
However, if the procedure is extensive, e.g. after a serious traffic accident with several injuries, general anesthesia cannot be avoided. In alcoholic patients, there are some advantages of partial anesthesia due to the increased risk of complications and the altered metabolism. It is also possible to combine general and partial anesthesia. Even in older patients, a partial anesthesia is sometimes more advantageous and associated with significantly fewer after-effects. More about this on our page under: Anaesthesia in the elderly The individual stages of anesthesia and the associated risks can be found under Anaesthesia stages
