Dr. K. Senthil Kumar

Senior Consultant and Head, Department of Anaesthesiology, Kauvery Hospitals, Tennur-Trichy, Tamilnadu, India

Correspondence: ksk@kauveryhospital.com

The book “A Wake-up Call from the Anaesthesiologist” is a gracious and thoughtful attempt to give a glimpse into the field of Anaesthesiology to a wider spectrum of population, including professionals.

Anaesthesiologists play a pivotal role in all surgical procedures and emergency health services (as analogized with the pilot in an aircraft, by the author). The author Dr. Vasanthi Vidhyasagaran is a versatile teacher and mentor to a significant number of Anaesthesiologists for more than three decades. She is also a renowned, highly regarded and efficient anaesthesiologist with vast experience in various aspects of Anaesthesiology.

This chronicle spans the time–period of her versatile career till today, straddling the spectacular advances that took place in Anaesthesiology. She has shared the real case scenarios with the background of her rich experience; describing their ebbs and flows. Realisation of having the privilege of being an Anaesthesiologist, and its moments of pride and prejudice, have all been emoted in a way that appeals to the society at large, and to the Anaesthesiologists, in particular.

The clear messages emphasized to all practising Anaesthesiologists are:

(1).Anaesthesiologists are peri-operative physicians, in and out of the operating room, who have to have a holistic knowledge about all medical disciplines that would impact and influence maintaining the milieu interior during all procedures.

(2).The anaesthesiologist’s role begins with the Pre-Anaesthetic Evaluation of Surgical Patients, complementing that with good communication skills, friendly attitude and behaviour, display of leadership initiatives qualities and shouldering of responsibilities.

(3).The pre-operative evaluation checklist manifesto includes – know your patient and patient’s attendant, know their profession, get familiar with them, analyse the status of pre-existing illnesses (how controlled are they), review the medications they are on and inquiry into allergy history, followed by the preparation and optimization for the said surgery, and accordingly counsel and obtain consent for anaesthesia and surgery. These are the keys for a smooth surgical and anaesthetic journey.

To the lay public the following points creates necessary awareness:

(1).The importance of revealing allergic history to the anaesthesiologist

(2).The current or long-term medications for illnesses other than the present surgical problem are also to be disclosed (e.g., long term usage of diuretics, laxatives, antacids, anti-hypothyroid medications, sleeping pills, etc).

(3).Long term medications have to be optimized to have an overall smooth Anaesthetic outcome.

(4).New Pre-Anaesthetic medications would be added to combat procedure related stresses such as pain, anxiety, stress ulcer, reduce vomiting, etc.

(5).Specific starvation instructions have to be followed in a strict sense

(6).Most of the blood thinners have to be withdrawn for a specific period before surgery in order to have a better control of blood loss and to prevent anaesthetic complications.

(7).History of intake of alternative medications is also to be presented without any hesitations to avoid unknown drug interactions.

(8).The delivery of Anaesthesia is a challenging mission which has to be tailored according to various age groups and pre-existing illnesses.

(9).Anaesthesia is a delicate and precise balancing act where there can be no compromise of any sort.

(10).Getting well informed directly with the anaesthesiologist who has a rich knowledge and experience, cannot be a match with internet information.

(11).An anaesthesiologist is a person who is well trained in scientific medicine with a basic M.B.B.S., and specialization in Anaesthesiology; also, who have pursued higher specialization in Cardiac anaesthesia, Neuro anaesthesia, Intensive care, etc.

(12).The prime role of Anaesthesiologist in pain relief during surgery also extends to post-operative period. In addition, this skill has its clinical application in alleviating pain and suffering of terminal ill patients such as cancer and pain arising out of other causes.

(13).The schematically presented First-Aid and resuscitation measures has to be learned by all people

Overall, this chronicle provides insightful understanding about “ANAESTHESIOLOGY”, a field that does not have a first-hand acquaintance with the people. Nevertheless, the surgical exercise is necessarily a harmonious team work of all the stake holders–patient, anaesthesiologist, surgeon, paramedical staff, with a sense of individualistic as well as shared responsibility.

Thank you, Madam, for creating, with this book, the needed positive ripples, for the benefit of human-kind.

NOTE:

The author has privately published a limited edition of the two books. The KAUVERIAN shall also be reviewing the second book shortly.

The KAUVERIAN also hopes to assist in publishing the books at “amazon.com”

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