DR. OTERO (ANAESTHESIST)

• Specialist Anaesthesia and Resuscitation
• Fellow of the College of Anaesthetists at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, FCARSI
• Advanced training in Paediatric Anaesthesia. Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust
• Consultant Anaesthetist M D Anderson Cancer Centre International of Spain, Madrid
• Member of the Spanish Society of Anaesthesia and Reanimation, SEDAR
• Member of the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, AAGBI
• Instructor of the Primary Trauma Care courses for the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesia, WFSA
• Collaborating physician in surgeries performed in Madrid.

The anaesthetic phycisians that work in team with Dr. Cerqueiro are all Specialists in Anaesthesia and Reanimation. They will look after you closely at all times during the surgical intervention. In our theatres anaesthetic nurses are never used to replace the presence of the anaesthetist. The anaesthetists are also trained and have special experience in the area of pain. All their efforts will be combined with the surgeon´s in order to provide a maximum level of safety during surgery and a minimum degree of discomfort afterwards.

The following text has been prepared by a our anaesthetic team for your information.

The following informations are aimed to let you know about the work of the specialist anaesthesia and resuscitation doctor, who will take care of you during the time of your surgical procedure. It is not a full description of a particular case, hence if you have some doubt about it, you have to ask your anaesthesist about your doubts.

Every anaesthetic procedure has to be realized in continue observation with the physiological parameters: heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen level as well as quantity of carbon dioxide which is produced during the operation.

This is done through a group of medical devices, known as monitoring, which will be applied on your body before the intervention.

Sedation: The aim of this anaesthesia type is to make you forget about your surgical operation, and make you relaxed during that time. Generally it is used in diagnostic procedures, even in the Radiology department. It may be used also as support interventions made with a local anaesthesia.

Local anaesthesia: Allows the pain releasing during the surgical action in the involved area. The most famous example may be the epidural analgesia, that puts to sleep the specific area from a catheter inserted by the shoulder through the spine. This type of anaesthesia may be prolonged like local analgesia in the post-operation, so that more of the secondary effects of the analgesics used after the operation are avoided.

General anaesthesia: Applied in long duration interventions in order to ease them. This allows more comfort to the patient and better conditions for the surgeon to operate.

Before the procedure, your anaesthesist and another doctor specialized in anaesthetics, will visit you in order to evaluate your health status, your medical history and your reply to other previous anaesthetic treatments. This consult may order tests to analyze all the possible risky situation that may occur in your particular case. These tests are done under the SEAR (Spanish Society of Anaesthesia and Resuscitation) recommendations.

You have to inform us about the medicines that you are taking, are they for a disease treatment as well as for allergies or for a anticonceptional use.

You have not to take aspirine at least 7 days before the intervencion. If you have questions about it ask your anaeshtesist.

All the types of anaesthesia requires a fasting status of the stomach in order to make the anaesthesia more effective. For that reason, if the intervention is in the morning you have not to drink and eat anything since the night before. In case it is for the afternoon you can do breakfast normally, and drink liquids until about two hours before the operation. Avoid milk, carbonated beverages and fruit juices.

If you are taking some medicine, take them when appropriate, except for if they are for diabetes mellitus. your doctor will guide you.

In modern anaesthesia, serious problems are uncommon. Risk cannot be completely removed, but modern equipment, training and drugs have made it a very safe procedure. Y en el momento actual el objetivo es disminuir los efectos secundarios más frecuentes, como la sensación nauseosa, los vómitos, el dolor de garganta, la sequedad de boca, la visión borrosa, el dolor a la inyección de ciertas drogas o en la realización de ciertas técnicas de anestesia loco-regional.

Other collateral effects, more rare, are theeth damaging, in paticular the superior ones, damage of the cornea, breathing infections, muscular pain, the may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions and memory loss.
However your anaesthesist will discuss with you the risks about your particular situation.

PLEASE AVOID TAKING ASPIRIN FOR AT LEAST TWO WEEKS BEFORE YOUR OPERATION.
IF YOUR DOCTOR SAID YOU TO DO NOT INTERRUPT THE CURE YOU HAVE TO INFORM US WITH ANTELATION.

These includes the assumption of liquids, analgesia administration and, in this case, the restart of eating and the care at home if your intervention is carried out in a day.

These cares may be done in your room, in an intensive care room, or at your house. All these things have the aim to get you to the better conditions after the operation.

Is important to be accompanied by an adult that after the procedure can help you, as well as the medical equipment, to ease your medical care.

In case of an ambulatory intervention, in order to avoid risks, you have not to drive or operate heavy machinery in the 24 hours following the operation.