Home

Surgeons' Conundrum Exposes Patients to Avoidable Risks like Over Medication, PONV & Post-op Delirium

Virtually every cosmetic surgery begins with the injection of epinephrine in lidocaine solution.

Epinephrine provides shrinkage of the blood vessels (vasoconstriction) that minimizes blood loss during surgery.

Lidocaine can provide adequate pain relief (analgesia).

Since both drugs are given in the same syringe, having observed vasoconstriction, the surgeon 'reasonably' concludes the problem must be in the level of sedation when the patient moves during surgery.

Prior to the ability to directly measure the patients' brain response to anesthesia, every patient movement necessitated more (& different) sedative treatment to insure no awareness or recall was responsible.

This practice led to excessive & erroneous medication of patients, leaving some with postoperative nausea & vomiting (PONV), pain or even post-op delirium.

With the advent of direct patient movement, the surgeon can make the differential diagnosis of more lidocaine or more propofol, leading to the more correct treatment.

Correctly treating the real cause of patient movement (inadequate local analgesia), avoids the need for excessive (or wrong) drugs, like narcotics, being given to patients & a far better postoperative outcome for all involved.

Direct brain monitored propofol sedation is the 21st century standard of care.

Be sure to ask if this will be done for your cosmetic procedure.

Website Development by Regency Web Service

Web Development by Nicholas Alipaz, in conjuction with Regency Web Service