The SurgiPrep interview system is easy and enjoyable to use. The process is private, convenient and unhurried, and patients have time and resources to answer questions fully and accurately. Patients can explore and express their concerns and are better prepared to discuss these later with their doctors and nurses. Monotonous information gathering is replaced with “quality time”, enhancing the doctor-patient or nurse-patient relationship. In healthy patients undergoing minor procedures SurgiPrep helps avoid unnecessary, inconvenient visits and referrals, which waste time and money.
For starters, SurgiPrep offers an online pre-procedure Interview that gathers a comprehensive medical history. In other words we take as much time as necessary to ask you all the questions relevant to your health for your planned procedure. SurgiPrep never gets tired, bored or frustrated.
Doctors and nurses are invariably busy and pressed for time so SurgiPrep can help avoid medical errors resulting from omissions of relevant information. The system assists in making your care as safe as possible.
A good pre-procedure medical history ensures that relevant medical issues are identified for exploration by you and your doctors. The subsequent face-to-face interview will go smoother and be much more productive for both of you. When you and your anesthesiologist meet, he or she will already know quite a bit about you! The information gathered is also useful to the surgeon (or other doctor) doing your procedure.
Along with your medical history we gather information about your preferences and values, taking care to the next level, so it is centered on you.
What is general anesthesia?
General anesthesia provides unconsciousness so you do not feel, see, or hear anything during a surgical procedure. The anesthetic medications are given through an intravenous (IV) line (drip) or as a breathing gas mixed with air or pure oxygen.
The state of unconsciousness achieved during general anaesthesia reduces, or eliminates completely, your body’s observed reactions to a painful stimulus, like a surgical knife. The results of general anesthesia include the blocking of pain, of awareness, and of muscle movements. Reactions of the so-called “autonomic nervous system” like increased heart rate, blood pressure and sweating are also blocked.
In many cases, drugs with pain-killing properties, such as morphine, are used as part of the “mix” of anesthetic drugs.
During general anesthesia muscle relaxing drugs are often given to make absolutely sure your muscles do not naturally contract, which would make surgery difficult. An artificial airway (breathing tube) must then be inserted and breathing achieved with a machine – a mechanical ventilator.
Your anesthesiologist watches over you very closely throughout the entire procedure with sophisticated technological equipment called “monitors”, as well as with close “hands-on” observation with the human senses.
Anesthesia is maintained until the surgical procedure is over – this involves continued administration of the medications and continual adjustment of their dose, based on how you respond. A fixed dose of anesthetic does not produce the same level of anesthesia in all patients. A person's response depends on age, weight, sex, general state of health or disease, genetic factors, drug interactions, and other factors.
Recovery from anesthesia occurs as the amount of anaesthetic in the brain decreases and, ultimately, is removed from the body entirely. The gases are removed from the body mainly by breathing them out, and the intravenous drugs by the action of the liver and kidneys. The effect of the muscle relaxing drugs is usually ended by giving other “reversal” drugs.
After waking up from anesthesia, you are usually transferred to a recovery area where you are monitored closely by specially trained nurses. After some major surgeries, patients may be taken to an intensive care unit for recovery.
Depending on the surgery and the type of anesthesia used, many people are able to go home within 1 - 4 hours. In this case the person who has had anesthesia must have a responsible adult companion provide an escort home and ideally care at home for the first 24 hours or so after surgery.