Can We Talk 2

Anesthesia

         I have a friend who just underwent open heart surgery. These older ladies in our circle were speculating about some of the details, like what they do with the ribs to get to the heart. I filled them in with everything I knew plus a little more without too much detail. They had never considered the anesthesia. That's what fascinates me the most.

         They tie the arms back straight out to avoid involuntary movement during the long surgery. The back hurts more than anything else afterwards for a few days. But the other big one is throwing up. Getting through the first 24 hours without throwing up is a hard job. The anesthesia has to be strong enough to knock you out for hours on several levels. You not only have to be sedated, your senses of hearing and vision have to be knocked out. Your memory has to be shut down. They don't want you to wake up and hear them talking or feel anything, but be unable to move or communicate. It all has to shut down. And they don't want you recalling the pain or sounds, etc., afterwards. This is really hard on your system, so the urge to throw up what's on your empty stomach is very great.

         They don't warn you about this, but most people regurgitate after heart surgery. Hopefully, it doesn't continue. The intensity of vomiting can affect the heart rhythm of people who were already having problems with murmurs. They try to anticipate this with a little medicine after you wake up to settle the stomach, but it doesn't work completely.

         The ability of the anesthesia is what amazes me. The medicine has to be administered in the right quantity for body weight and the duration of the surgery. It has to meet so many requirements at one time. It shows the advanced qualities of medication and the intricacies of the research.