General anesthesia is, essentially, a medically induced coma, not sleep. Drugs render a patient unresponsive and unconscious. They are normally administered intravenously (IV) or inhaled. Under general anesthesia, the patient is unable to feel pain and may also have amnesia. The drugs will be administered by an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist, a specially trained doctor or nurse who will also monitor a patient’s vital signs and rate of breathing during the procedure. General anesthetics have been widely used in surgery since 1842, when Crawford Long administered diethyl ether to a patient and performed the first painless operation. In this article, we will cover a number of topics, including the potential side effects of general anesthesia, associated risks and some theories regarding their mode of action. There are a number of potential side effects of anesthesia. Some individuals may experience none, others a few. None of the side effects are particularly long-lasting and tend to occur straight after the anesthesia.

Side effects of general anesthesia include:

• temporary confusion and memory loss, although this is more common in the elderly
• dizziness
• difficulty passing urine
• bruising or soreness from the IV drip
• nausea and vomiting
• shivering and feeling cold
• sore throat, due to the breathing tube

However, older adults and those undergoing lengthy procedures are most at risk of negative outcomes. These outcomes can include postoperative confusion, heart attack, pneumonia and stroke. Some specific conditions increase the risk to the patient undergoing general anesthetic, such as:

• obstructive sleep apnea, a condition where individuals stop breathing while asleep
• seizures
• existing heart, kidney or lung conditions
• high blood pressure
• alcoholism
• smoking
• history of reactions to anesthesia
• medications that can increase bleeding – aspirin, for example
• drug allergies
• diabetes
• obesity or overweight

The scholar journal uses editorial manager system for maintaining quality of the whole process of manuscript submission, peer review and tracking. Journal of Surgery and Anesthesia aims to maintain a rapid editorial procedure and a rigorous peer-review system for all the submitted manuscripts. The submitted articles are peer-reviewed within 21 days of submission and the accepted articles are published immediately. Acceptance of any manuscript for publication requires approval of at least two independent reviewers and the editor. Submit manuscripts as an e-mail attachment to manuscripts@longdom.org