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Anesthesia Complications
Most of the time, anesthesia will be relatively safe. However, that does not mean that complications never occur, because they do. The lowest risk of anesthesia complications tends to come from local anesthesia, while the greatest risk comes from general anesthesia.
Allergies to anesthetics
In some cases, people may be allergic to the anesthetics that are being used, and this can cause life-threatening situations. Allergies can occur with any type of anesthesia, whether it is local or general, so doctors need to be very aware of any allergies that a patient has. Unfortunately, many people are unaware that they have these types of allergies.
With local anesthesia, some of the most common types of reactions include nausea and vomiting, although this could be caused by the sedative rather than the anesthesia in some cases.
Anesthesia complications: Regional vs local
Regional anesthesia has a higher risk of complications than local anesthesia. Some of the most common issues include temporary paralysis or weakness of the area that was affected. It could also include a headache, which is more common with epidural and spinal anesthesia. Other complications include backaches, an inability to urinate, and low blood pressure, also called hypotension. In some cases, nerve damage, permanent paralysis, and infection could occur, although these are rare.
General anesthesia – greatest risk
With general anesthesia, the potential anesthesia complications tend to be greater. This is because it will affect the entire body. Some of the common side effects can include vomiting and nausea, feeling tired, vision problems, dizziness, and headaches. There are also serious complications that are associated with general anesthesia. These can include stroke, heart attack, brain damage, and even death.
Although they are rare, these problems can occur. In some cases, the doctors should have been able to catch these issues before they occurred.
If you believe that you or a loved one have suffered through anesthesia complications during surgery, and you feel that it should not have happened, you will want to get in touch with an attorney as soon as possible. The attorney can look at the facts of what happened and then let you know whether you have a case that you may want to pursue through legal channels.
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