Anesthesia for Hip & Knee Surgery
Hip or knee replacement surgery can be done with either general anesthesia or spinal anesthesia.
On the day of surgery, the anesthesiologist can help you decide which choice is best for you and explain risks involved with anesthesia. Several factors must be considered when selecting appropriate anesthesia, including:
- Spinal anesthesia is used to numb up the body below the waist. In addition, sedatives are given to put the patient into a "twilight sleep." With a spinal anesthetic, numbing medicine is injected into the fluid surrounding the spinal nerves in the lower part of your back. This produces a rapid numbing effect that lasts for several hours.
- General anesthesia puts you into a deep sleep requiring the anesthesiologist to put you on a ventilator during the procedure.
On the day of surgery, the anesthesiologist can help you decide which choice is best for you and explain risks involved with anesthesia. Several factors must be considered when selecting appropriate anesthesia, including:
|
|
In most cases, Dr. Jana prefers spinal anesthesia because it has been shown in studies to have numerous benefits over general anesthesia. The benefits may include a lower risk of blood clots, heart attacks, pneumonia, nausea, and mental impairment. Many patient worry about being awake during the procedure, but sedatives are given and patients rarely have any memory of their time in the operating room.
In the case of knee replacements, femoral and sciatic nerve blocks are used to help lessen the post-operative pain. These are done in addition to the spinal or general anesthesia that is used during surgery. The nerve blocks are given by the anesthesiologist in the preoperative holding area. He or she will inject a local anesthetic that will make the leg numb for 6-18 hours after surgery. In most cases, patients have very little pain when they awaken from the surgery until the blocks wear off. A down-side of the blocks is that the leg muscles will temporarily be very weak or completely paralyzed (until the blocks wear off).
For more information, see Anesthesia for Hip and Knee Surgery from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
In the case of knee replacements, femoral and sciatic nerve blocks are used to help lessen the post-operative pain. These are done in addition to the spinal or general anesthesia that is used during surgery. The nerve blocks are given by the anesthesiologist in the preoperative holding area. He or she will inject a local anesthetic that will make the leg numb for 6-18 hours after surgery. In most cases, patients have very little pain when they awaken from the surgery until the blocks wear off. A down-side of the blocks is that the leg muscles will temporarily be very weak or completely paralyzed (until the blocks wear off).
For more information, see Anesthesia for Hip and Knee Surgery from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
