ANESTHESIOLOGIST

The Anesthesiologist and the anesthetic team will look after your anesthetic. They will discuss all the options with you and the risks and benefits associated with each option.

Types of Anesthetic

The majority of patients undergoing joint replacement surgery will have a spinal anesthesia. 
Occasionally patients are unsuitable for a spinal anesthetic and will require a general anesthetic. 

Benefits of Spinal Anesthesia

The benefits when compared to a general anesthetic include better pain relief following the procedure, you are able to eat and drink sooner after your procedure, lower risk of pneumonia (chest infection) and lower risk of developing blood clots following surgery.

Spinal Anesthetic Procedure

Your Anesthesist will guide you through this procedure and will be aided by the Anesthetic Nurse and a Multi-Task Attendant. If you have any questions or concerns you should talk to your anesthetic team.

Positioning

In the anesthetic room, monitors will be attached to your arm, a canula inserted into a vein and you will be asked to sit up on the trolley with your legs hanging over the side, leaning over hugging a pillow with your shoulders relaxed. 

An alternative position is  lying on your side.



Procedure

The skin will be sterilisted with antisecptic solution and local anestheic administered injected to the site.

The spinal needle is then inserted into the spinal canal and the anesthetic solution injected. 

A dressing is placed over the injection site and you will be helped to lie down. After 10 minutes the spinal anesthetic will have taken effect and this will be checked prior to proceeding.

Sedation

You will hear noises during your surgery (talking and banging), if this is something that you would rather not hear you can listen to music or speak to your anesthesist about getting sedation medication to help you sleep through the surgery. Most people recieve some sedation to help them relax and in general wake up at the end of the procedure after a restful sleep.

Complications Of Spinal Anesthesia

01 Failure

Occassionaly it is not possible to insert the needle into the patients spine. This is normally caused by some abnormality in the bony structures in the patient's back. If this occurs and it is not possible to carry out a spinal anesthetic it will be necessary to procced with a general anesthetic to carry out your surgery.

02 Headache

This is uncommon but when it does occur can be a significant headache that can require further treatments such as an injection into the spine

03 Very rare

Complications such as bleeding, nerve injury and infection are exceedingly rare.
Occasionally some patients will require a urinary catheter for 24 hours following surgery as they have difficulty passing urine.
Share by: