Anesthesia and Good Health

A RECIPE FOR GOOD HEALTH
THAT HELPS YOU UNDERGO ANESTHESIA SAFELY

Questions and Answers

Q. The thought of having surgery makes me very nervous and a drink helps to calm me down. My doctor told me not to drink any alcohol before surgery. Why?

A. There are several reasons why you should not drink alcohol before surgery. Alcohol slows the movement of food through the stomach and also irritates the stomach lining increasing the chances that you will vomit or regurgitate. Alcohol also adds to the effects of sedative and anesthetic agents. This makes it difficult for the anesthesiologist to estimate proper doses of the anesthetics.

Q. I am taking several medications. After reviewing them, the anesthesiologist told me to take some of them with a sip of water on the day of surgery, but not to take others. Why?

A. Patients who are taking medications to control their blood pressure should continue to take their medicines on schedule until the time of surgery. This allows the greatest control during induction of anesthesia. Others such as steroids, some of the anti-convulsive drugs and medicines for heart irregularities (arrhythmias) also need to be taken. Thyroid replacement and oral diabetic medicines should be omitted on the day of surgery. You should not take aspirin and/or ibuprofen for a week before surgery because they affect the ability of blood to clot.

Q. Why is it important for me to stop smoking before I have surgery?

A. Smoking tobacco causes chronic irritation in the passages which carry air to the lungs. These passages are lined by cells with fine hairlike projections called cilia. The cilia brush foreign material up and out into the mouth and they are paralyzed by tobacco smoke. Chest infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia are more likely to occur in people who smoke. In addition, many smokers have uncontrollable coughs that can cause a rupture of the surgical incision. The more time in advance of your surgery you stop smoking the better but even stopping a few days before surgery can help.

Q. Is it really that important that I don't eat or drink anything the day of my surgery?

A. Yes, when you are given anesthesia or you are sedated the muscles that close the foodpipe (esophagus), which is connected to the stomach, relax. If there is any food or fluid in your stomach regurgitation occurs. At the same time your reflexes, which usually cause coughing or gagging, are also lessened. This allows the regurgitated material to enter your windpipe and can prevent oxygen from going to your lungs or cause a post-operative chest infection.