Spinal anesthesia is a type of regional anesthesia in which an anesthetic is injected into the spinal canal. Many people are familiar with the concept of an epidural, a type of spinal anesthesia which numbs the pelvic area for childbirth and medical procedures which need to be carried out in that region. There are also numerous other applications for spinal anesthesia, which is always administered by a trained anesthesiologist. If you are being considered as a candidate for spinal anesthesia, the anesthesiologist will meet with you to discuss the procedure and talk about what it will feel like.
Like other anesthesia techniques, spinal anesthesia is intended to minimize the sense of pain for a patient. In addition to making the surgical experience less traumatic, anesthesia also appears to promote healing, since pain interferes with the rapid healing of injuries. A number of different anesthesia drugs are available, along with a variety of techniques to maximize effectiveness. Spinal anesthesia is a common technique for procedures involving the lower body.
The primary reason for choosing spinal anesthesia is that it helps to avoid the complications associated with general anesthesia. Usually, the patient is under conscious sedation during the procedure as well, to ensure that he or she is at a maximum comfort level. Typically, the patient will not remember very many of the details of the procedure. However, keeping the patient awake for the procedure can help doctors, as the patient can communicate about sensations that he or she is experiencing.
To administer spinal anesthesia, the anesthesiologist first numbs an area with a local anesthetic. Once the local anesthetic is active, another needle is inserted into the spine to administer a longer acting regional anesthetic. Spinal anesthesia is used most frequently to numb the lower half of the body, although it may also be used as a regional anesthesia for some procedures in the torso region. When the procedure is finished, the patient is given a rest and recovery period while he or she regains strength.
No surgical procedure is entirely risk-free. There is a small risk of complications associated with spinal anesthesia, including potential paralysis. For this reason, it is extremely important to be open with the anesthesiologist during your pre-operative interview, to identify any potential sources of complications during the procedure. The anesthesiologist may determine that you are not a good candidate after the interview, and will put forward some alternatives to spinal anesthesia which may be safer.