I'm about to go get my wisdom teeth out

[xiphias]

Lis: You should blog something wise!
Ian: Why?
Lis: So you can compare before and after!
Ian: I thought it was so that, in the unlikely event that I die under the general anesthesia, my final post won't be my parents talking about octopuses taking over the world.
Lis: I thought you WANTED to be remembered for that.

Yep, so I'm off to the oral surgeon to get my wisdom teeth removed. I suppose there IS a non-zero chance that I'll die from this, but given that Dr. D'Eamero has taken the wisdom teeth out of, I think, THOUSANDS of people (including my sister and several of my cousins), under general and with no significant complications, I'm not THAT worried.

Comments

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

Mayhap I'm misunderstanding what is meant by 'general'. I tend to think of general anaesthetic as meaning being so drugged that one is no longer breathing for oneself.

This, to my knowlege, is not done in dentist's offices but only in hospitals. And if you woke up and tried to hit someone that's not what I think of as general anaesthesia.

I have no memory of having my wisdom teeth out. I slept through at least some of it, in that I counted backward from 10 to maybe 6. But when I woke up on a bunk bed they told me I walked to it. And they'd made sure my inhaler was accessible during.

This is "heavy sedation" (or IV sedation), not "general anaesthesia"

general anaesthesia

IV Sedation

[voltbang.livejournal.com]

I thought general just meant unconscious. IV sedation, not awake, not moving. That's the way to go, however you express it. As heavy as they get in the dentists office.

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

:complete agreement:

[felis-sidus.livejournal.com]

general anesthesia = unconscious, not aware of what's happening

IV sedation, aka, conscious sedation = in and out of consciousness, aware of what's happening at least part of the time, but may not recall it

General anesthesia is riskier than conscious sedation and requires monitoring by a specialist, so usually is not done outside a hospital or day surgery center. Some oral surgery is done in day surgery centers.

Interestingly, we're starting to find evidence that while general anesthesia renders the patient unconsious and not aware of pain, the body continues to respond to pain unless analgesia is also given. Some studies have shown that patients who receive both anesthesia and analgesia tend to do better after surgery.