Anesthesia refers to the blockage of pain sensation during surgery and operations. It is a vital medical practice that is performed before an emergency like bone repairing, heart surgery, or any other dental surgery. In this process, a drug is delivered to the body to save the patient from aches and pain during the medical procedure.
Regional anesthesia refers to the anesthesia given to larger areas of the body such as an arm, leg, or the body parts below the waist. Regional anesthesia is beneficial during childbirth, a Cesarean section, and other minor or major surgeries.
The importance of regional anesthesia can never be underestimated. Regional anesthesia is most helpful when:
- A medical procedure is confined to a specific region of the body.
- The operation involves large care of the body.
- Operation or surgeries in which high dose injections can affect the entire body.
- Surgeries do not require general anesthesia.
Medical Devices used in Regional Anesthesia
For regional anesthesia, skill and experience are required by the specialist to inject the anesthetic drug at the proper location, which gives accurate results. Certain medical devices are likewise used for inducing and monitoring regional anesthesia:
1: Needles for nerve block
A variety of needles are used in regional anesthesia depending upon their use. A quality needle should have markings on the needle shaft in centimeters that help determine needle depth from the skin.
Insulated needles are frequently used with nerve stimulation for regional anesthesia. These needles have a small conductive area at the needle tip that provides more precise nerve stimulation as compared to non-insulated needles.
2: Peripheral nerve block stimulators
Peripheral nerve stimulation is provided by electronic stimulator devices. This technique is important in blocking targeted nerves that provide pain signals to the brain. Stimulation of nerves is suggested at 0.5mA or less for accurate needle replacement for injection of anesthetic drug.
3: Ultrasound
Modern advances and developments have resulted in providing high image resolution with smaller, portable ultrasound machines used in regional anesthesia. An ultrasound machine is used to generate and optimize the images for depth change, neutral anatomy, needle position, and real-time evaluation.
Ultrasound is becoming the gold standard for regional anesthesia as ultrasound guidance enables the anesthesiologist to monitor needle position and distribution of local anesthesia in real-time.
There are multiple benefits of infusion pumps in regional anesthesia, including potent analgesia, improved rehabilitation, and perineural infusion. It is also used for delivering drugs and nutrients in large amounts to unconscious patients.
Spinal infusion pumps are exceptionally used to deliver morphine directly to the spinal cord using a small catheter. This is applied in spinal surgeries in which the pain is irresistible with oral anesthesia medication. Spinal Infusion Pumps are generally the best solution for controlling pain, where more conservative methods have failed previously.
Regional anesthesia is the safest type to give anesthesia, and it does not contain any potential complications. To avoid any side effects, it must be provided and monitored by a qualified physician anesthesiologist.
