To put things in perspective there is arguably no safer place in the world to have an anaesthetic than Australia. In terms of training, equipment and safety standards Australia is amongst the best in the world.
The latest Safety of Anaesthesia Report 2018-2020 showed that a directly anaesthetic related death was 1 in 63999. Over 10.4 million anaesthetics were given in that triennium
To understand this properly you must understand that this number is for all anaesthetics and of those deaths:
- 82% of those deaths occurred in people over the age of 70yrs.
- 75% were either very urgent or emergency. (i.e already very unwell with no time for preoperative optimisation or preparation)
- Only 4% occurred in patients considered fit and healthy for their age
It is impossible to put all of the possible risks into a website or information leaflet, the other important thing to remember is that people have different levels of acceptable risk. As an example one patient that was having major brain surgery was actually most worried about the needle to go to sleep. They didn’t have any major concerns over the risks of the operation or the anaesthetic, just the needle. So whilst this will explain some of the more common and serious complications, we ENCOURAGE you to discuss any specific risk or concerns you have with your anaesthetist, no matter how silly you think they may be, during the anaesthetic preoperative consultation.
Many of these risks will be more specifically related to certain types of surgeries and to your physical health. For example, if you are having open heart surgery, then you are at higher risk of a cardiovascular complication such as a heart attack or a stroke, compared to a teen having an appendicectomy. So again if you have any specific concerns please ask us here.
There are several common reactions that can occur after an operation and anaesthetic, not that can threaten your life or cause any permanent effects, but that can make you feel uncomfortable. Please see the information sheet common side effects for a discussion of this.https://mrandmrsgas.com.au/infosheet/common-side-effects/
COMPLICATIONS THAT MAY OCCUR WITH AN OPERATION AND ANAESTHETIC INCLUDE:
- Damage to your teeth, orthodontic hardware or dental prosthesis.
- Temporary breathing difficulty during the operation or afterwards.
- Asthmatic reactions
- Temporary nerve damage.
- Muscle pains.
- Sore throat from the breathing tube, bruising at the site of the IV.
- Feeling cold or shivering post op
- Difficult pain management
RARE COMPLICATIONS THAT MAY OCCUR INCLUDE:
- Cardiovascular complications such as heart attack, abnormal heart rhythm or stroke
- Respiratory complications such as pneumonia or aspiration.
- Permanent nerve injury including paraplegia or quadriplegia, or peripheral nerve injury.
- Severe allergic reactions including anaphylaxis.
- Severe reaction to anaesthetic gas known as malignant hyperthermia.
- Kidney and liver failure.
- Eye injuries.
- Awareness
- Damage to nerves, skin, muscle and bone can occur due to being immobile for long periods of time and/or due to the body position required for the surgery. All care is taken by the entire theatre team to minimise this risk, but the longer the operation or if position changes are required during the surgery, the greater the risk.
- Post op confusion and memory problems, especially in the elderly.
THERE ARE THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO TO MINIMISE YOUR OWN SURGICAL AND ANAESTHETIC RISK:
- If you have any major health conditions that you see a specialist for (eg cardiologist) make sure you have been recently and all medications optimised.
- Take all of your regular medications as prescribed unless you have been otherwise advised by your surgeon or anaesthetist.
- Follow fasting instructions strictly especially if on GLP-1 (diabetes/weight loss) injections or tablets.
- STOP smoking even if only for a short period before the operation including vaping and THC.
- If you have sleep apnoea and have a CPAP Machine, bring it with you and be sure to advise your anaesthetist.
- Maintain a healthy weight, obesity or underweight increases many of your intraoperative and postoperative risks.
- Stop any herbal or natural medications including Chinese medicine two weeks prior to the operation.
- Fully disclose directly to your anaesthetist your own health history, any family history of inherited medical conditions or anaesthetic reactions and any prescribed or non-prescribed substances that you take as a tablet, supplement, injection or inhale including recreational drugs and peptides. This will likely mean filling out multiple repetitive health questionnaires (including ours) however information that was provided to surgeon or hospital does not always make it to us.