Anesthesia is commonly administered to patients so that they will be unconscious during surgery. Typically, general anesthesia does not pose a great risk to the health of a patient, so there is usually nothing to worry about. However, if you have an upcoming surgery in New York City, it is wise to ask your doctor questions about the operation and the general anesthesia that will be used.
A good question to ask is whether there are other kinds of anesthesia that you could take. WebMD says that instead of general anesthesia, your doctors may have a local anesthetic available. Local anesthesia only numbs a part of the body and does not make you unconscious. Some patients want local anesthesia instead. They would rather be awake during the operation. Ask your doctors about these possibilities.
You can also ask to talk to your anesthesiologist. An anesthesiologist is responsible for giving you the anesthesia. You can ask your anesthesiologist about all the options available for your surgery. Also ask about possible risks to your health if you are given anesthesia. If you are an older person, ask if your age can be a problem. If you have an existing health condition, ask if taking anesthesia could have bad effects on you.
Before your surgery, find out if anyone in your family had suffered from being given anesthesia. Some people may have health problems or die from use of anesthesia because of a genetic inheritance that is passed down through a family line. These cases are rare, but they have happened. So talk to your doctor if you know that your family may have this problem.
It is important that your doctor and your hospital tell you everything you need to know about your upcoming operation. This is part of informed consent. Cancer.org explains that doctors have a duty to tell patients about the benefits and risks of going through with a treatment. Informed consent also means that you have time to ask your doctor or surgeon questions that you may have. Once you are properly informed, you can decide for yourself if you should go through with the treatment.
If your doctor does not tell you everything that you should know about a treatment and you suffer health problems because of the treatment, your doctor might be held liable for not performing proper informed consent. Consult with your trusted medical malpractice attorney if you believe this has happened to you.