The difference between “partial anesthesia” and general anesthesia

"Doctor, will I have general anesthesia or partial anesthesia for my surgery today?" We often hear this question from surgical patients in the hospital. So, what is general anesthesia and what is partial anesthesia? Today, let's talk about some basic knowledge about anesthesia.

If we want to have surgery, we definitely need anesthesia. Someone may ask, "If we are numb" or "drunk", can we have surgery? This guy's description is very vivid. Anesthesia is to make the patient feel no pain during the operation, and to spend the operation period comfortably and safely. The most common types are spinal anesthesia and general anesthesia.

Spinal anesthesia is what the common people call "half-body anesthesia" --- " half anesthesia " . It is a method of anesthesia in which the anesthesiologist injects local anesthetics into the spinal canal, blocking the nerves, making the parts innervated by the nerves numb and weak, thus achieving pain-free. This is what we call "numbness" above.

"Half-body anesthesia" is generally suitable for some surgeries on the lower limbs and lower abdomen. For example, it can be used for cesarean section, appendectomy, lower limb fracture, varicose veins of the lower limb, hernia repair and other surgeries. "Half-body anesthesia" has many advantages. During the entire operation, our patients are always awake. We can chat with the surgeon and anesthesiologist while receiving the surgery, which is very conducive to doctor-patient communication. Especially for our cesarean section, we can see our baby as soon as the baby is born, and we can have close contact with our baby. And there is no need to be awake after the operation, you can go back to the ward directly. The most important thing is that "half-body anesthesia" has little effect on our cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Generally, blood pressure and breathing will not fluctuate too much. We completed our operation while chatting and laughing.

However, "half-body anesthesia" also has some disadvantages. Sometimes it takes a while for the numbness of the lower limbs to recover, and you cannot walk in time. If we are timid, afraid, fearful, and uncooperative, it will also cause inconvenience to the anesthesiologist's operation. Sometimes there will be symptoms such as poor anesthesia effect and a little pain during the operation. However, you don't need to worry about this at all. Our anesthesiologist will add some analgesics and sedatives according to your symptoms to make you fall asleep and relieve pain. If necessary, you can also change the anesthesia method to general anesthesia.

So what is general anesthesia? General anesthesia is when the anesthesiologist injects some intravenous anesthetic drugs into our blood vessels through the veins, which quickly puts us into an unconscious sleep state. We are in a relatively deep sleep during the entire operation. When the operation is over, the anesthesiologist can quickly wake you up from the sleep state with a call. The whole operation is like a dream. The anesthesiologist will usually tell you, "Sleep well, and when you wake up, the operation will be over." This is what ordinary people call "being drunk."

If it is a major surgery, general anesthesia is necessary, because the surgeon needs muscle relaxation and no adverse reflexes. General anesthesia can meet these requirements. Our anesthesiologist will intubate you and ventilate you through the anesthesia machine to ensure the patient's breathing safety. There are also some advanced monitoring devices during the operation to monitor the patient's breathing, blood pressure, heart rate, heart rhythm, blood oxygen saturation, etc., and even the depth of anesthesia and anesthetic drug monitoring, which can always guide the anesthesiologist to adjust the anesthetic drugs. Therefore, general anesthesia is the specialty of anesthesiologists and is very safe.

Especially recently, with the development of science and technology and the improvement of people's quality of life, some outpatient examinations and diagnostic treatments can also be performed under general anesthesia. For example, gastrointestinal endoscopy, abortion surgery, tooth extraction surgery, etc. can now be completed under general anesthesia.

Although general anesthesia is our last resort, it also has some risks and side effects, such as the high cost of anesthetic drugs, the high dosage of drugs, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, increased respiratory secretions, dry mouth, sore throat, delayed awakening, etc. However, these are not big problems compared to surgery, and there are many analgesic, antiemetic, and awakening drugs now.

Now, we are going to have surgery. Should we choose "half-body anesthesia"? Or should we choose general anesthesia? Generally speaking, all surgeries that can be done with half-body anesthesia can be done with general anesthesia, while surgeries that require general anesthesia sometimes cannot be done with half-body anesthesia. Therefore, in addition to the surgical needs, the anesthesiologist will make an assessment based on his own anesthesia technology and anesthesia experience, combined with the requirements of the surgery and the patient's own wishes, and make a comprehensive analysis to arrange a most suitable and reasonable anesthesia method for us. And ensure the safety and success of the operation. We don't need to have any concerns.

Xu Hemei, Department of Anesthesiology, Huguan County People's Hospital, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province

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