Anaesthesiology
Anethesiology is a department of medical science that takes care of the patient before, during and after the surgery. It includes pain management, intensive care medicines, critical emergency medicine and anesthesia.
Anesthesia is considered an important medical treatment and an absolute necessity during surgeries/operations. A patient is either injected with ‘anesthetics’ – a type of drug that numbs the pain receptors for a brief period so that doctors can perform surgeries without the patient feeling the harsh pain – or he is made to breathe the anesthetic.
Different types of anesthesia are chosen for a patient depending upon his condition. In case the doctor only needs to numb a particular area of the body to perform a minor pain-inducing treatment (like stitching up a wound or extracting a tooth) the patient is given what is called the local anesthesia. It is to be noted that in the case of local anesthesia the patient stays conscious while the treatment takes place and is aware of his surroundings. It’s just the pain that he doesn’t feel. This anesthetic is generally given by the doctor performing the procedure and treatment (like a General Physician or a Dentist) and does not need to have extra certification in anesthesiology, though it may be preferred.
In cases of more complex and invasive procedures, the doctor will most likely opt for general anesthesia wherein the patient loses consciousness, does not feel any pain and cannot recollect the events of the surgery while he is ‘sleeping’.
General Anesthesia helps in numbing the pain and awareness during the surgery, relaxes the muscle to allow the doctors to conduct the surgery with ease and also facilitates complete control of breathing and circulation.
Sedation and Regional Anesthesia are the other types of anesthesia that can be opted for by a doctor after diagnosing the condition and the treatment required for the condition. Regional Anesthesia is opted for in cases where a large part of the body needs pain blockage. For example a leg block for leg surgery or in the case of childbirth where a c-section (cesarean) has to be performed.
Sedation is a very mild form of anesthetic where the patient is in a deep sleep and can be woken up easily. Although the pain is blocked even in this case and the patient will not have any memory of the treatment while under sedation.
Doctors specialising in this department of science are known as Anesthesiologist or Anesthetists. These are physicians who have had specialized training and certification and are experts in anesthesia, pain medicines and perioperative medicine. Most of these physicians also have further expertise in their sub-specialities like critical care medicine, intensive care medicine and sleep medicine. The Anesthesologists also keep track of the vital signs once the anesthetic is administered – which include blood pressure, heart rate, pulse rate and the level of oxygen in the blood.
The Department of anaesthesiology is headed by our two consultants with more than 10 years of experience in the field of GI anaesthesia
Dr. Aditya Zha(MD)
Dr. Jignesh Patel (MD)
Working full time with our institute and constantly improving the department. We have painless surgery and interventional endoscopy programs.