World Anaesthesia Day: What you need to know

On the 16th October, while we foodies were celebrating World Food Day and discussing how to make food available for those most in need, the medical society was celebrating World Anaesthesia Day. It’s a day set aside to educate the masses on the importance of that sphere of medical science to their health care.

 Who is an anesthesiologist and what makes their work so important? Anaesthesiologists are physicians who give anaesthesia before, during, or after surgery or other medical procedures. Anaesthetics are used to block out pain or the memory of pain, leading to painless medical procedures. It also acts as a muscle relaxant in extreme cases and is capable of inducing a mild state of unconsciousness in patients.

 The practice began aeons ago, but the use of modern anaesthesia can be traced back to 1849 when a Boston dentist (William T.G. Morgan) used it successfully in a public demonstration on a patient at Massachusetts General Hospital. Before then people used to be told to bite down on cloths or other items when in extreme pain; some were even instructed to inhale substances with anaesthetic properties during procedures. But over time, it has been discovered that the body reacts differently(regarding side effects) to anaesthesia that is inhaled and that which is given intravenously. Although the dosage given can be responsible for that, it would seem the latter is the preferred method for human beings.

 An anesthesiologist is just as important to any medical procedure - especially those of a surgical nature - as the consultant or surgeons. The use of anaesthesia involves not only the administration of the drug before surgery but also monitoring of the patient’s vitals with machines during and after the surgery. It also includes watching out to reverse any unexpected adverse effect of the anaesthesia on the patient during or after the surgery. It’s not a-one-shoe-fits-all kind of practice because there are different areas of specialisation within anesthesiology. There is pain management, paediatric anesthesiology, or critical care medicine. As with any medical practice, it takes a total of 12-13 years to be a pro in this field.

I’m sure you are wondering how this information is useful to us Nigerians. If you’ve ever been on an operating table, you can relate to the importance of anaesthesiologists. In Nigeria, the tale of a two-year-old child died during a simple procedure because there was no anesthesiologist present after the surgery, have once made the headlines. Another regular occurrence is the inability to book someone in for a medical procedure because there was no confirmed report on how soon an anesthesiologist would be available. For such similar stories, the most prevalent question has been where did the anesthesiologist go?

The truth is, there is a shortage of anesthesiologists in the world. Most times in Nigeria, the available ones a booked back to back by different hospitals or health institutions. That is not to say I approve of a doctor leaving the theatre for any reason when the patient is on the operating table. My point is, such occurrences would be less frequent if we had sufficient doctors practising anesthesiology. For instance, in Benin City, there are only 52 anesthesiologists catering to over 5 million people. This problem is not unique to Nigeria because, in Liverpool, there are about 50 anaesthesiologists and trainees who serve over 150, 000 people in their community.

The implication of this is that many people find themselves in surgery without a certified anesthesiologist and when a complication arises, these makeshift arrangements cause a crisis. We may not all be knowledgeable in the medical field, but what we can do is, as patients, we can insist on having qualified health care providers. As parents, when our children studying medicine want to specialise, we can discuss the different medical fields with them and point them in the direction of anaesthesiology where there is a high demand for doctors with a range of employment options. Because an anesthesiologist can work with dentists, gynaecologists and surgeons during invasive surgeries, labour/delivery, cosmetic or eye surgeries, etc.

That is why this year’s celebration was tagged Count Me In. We all have a role to play in ensuring we get adequate health care. Once people are aware of any need, potential solutions begin to emerge. Until I met an anesthesiologist, I was blissfully unaware of why surgeries were planned around the availability of one. I’ve done my role in informing you. Now do yours in spreading this information.