Anesthetics are a particular kind of drug that some Chicago doctors use for surgical procedures. Drugs that fall into this category are used for a variety of purposes including pain relief, relaxation and sleep induction. As surgeries can be highly complex and lengthy, doctors often find it convenient to relax their patients to the point of sleep for the procedures so that they do not experience the pain associated with their operations.
Although serious complications from anesthesia errors are not common, some people are harmed by the sleep-inducing medications their medical teams administer before their surgeries. According to WebMD, there are many issues a person may experience as a result of the use of anesthesia in his body. A person’s heart or lungs may be adversely affected, or he may experience severe headaches, vomiting or pneumonia. Too much or the wrong anesthesia can affect a person’s brain; doctors and medical facilities should understand a patient’s condition and perform necessary tests before submitting a person to a potentially dangerous form of local or general anesthesia.
Preexisting conditions in a patient’s body can make him more likely to have a negative reaction to anesthesia, and when medical personnel fail to recognize these conditions a patient can be put in harm’s way by exposure to anesthetics. Even after a patient is exposed to anesthetics and is going through his surgery, medical personnel should monitor his condition to ensure that he does not adversely react to the drugs.
Surgery can improve a person’s quality of life. However, there are always risks when someone decides to undergo a major procedure. Anesthesia errors do happen, and when doctor mistakes result in patients suffering harm, claims of medical malpractice may arise.
