Spotlight on Anaesthesiology
Despite the fact that man has conducted operations for at least five millennia, knowledge of how to extinguish consciousness and perform painless surgery – also known as anaesthesia – has only been around for nearly 170 years. Initially, the field only comprised acute pain relief, but today it encompasses the whole process before, during and after an operation.
Black out - anaesthesia that revolutionized medicine
Black out - anaesthesia that revolutionized medicine
Every year some 700,000 operations are performed in Sweden. Surgery has almost become a routine and it is now considered a matter of course to be operated on without experiencing either pain or discomfort from the surgery.
“One or two in a thousand wake during surgery”
“One or two in a thousand wake during surgery”
The nightmare – to wake up during surgery - is unfortunately a reality for one or two in a thousand of those anaesthetised. But it is possible to reduce the risk.
“I suddenly could not remember what I had read”
“I suddenly could not remember what I had read”
Although Bengt Malmsten from Halmstad was only 58 years old, his knee was so worn down from osteoarthritis that it no longer worked. He was anesthetised and a whole new knee replacement was operated in on his leg. The surgery went well, but he did not feel quite right afterwards.