3 Things to consider if you’re going under general anesthesia

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RecoverySliderAre you having surgery sometime soon?  Are you concerned about going under general anesthesia because you’ve heard that general anesthesia is dangerous?   General anesthesia is probably safer than it’s ever been.  There is certainly a direct correlation between the amount of anesthesia a person needs, and the speed with which they recover.   If you have had a previous bad experience with anesthesia or are elderly, frail, or red-headed (yes, redheads react very differently to anesthesia!), OR, if you’re just a little anxious, then there are few basic facts you should know.

  1.  Ask your doctor if you absolutely need general anesthesia.  Many procedures can be done under a regional block or even local anesthesia.  But if you’re having open-heart surgery or other surgeries that require general anesthesia, then find other ways to reduce the amount, like supplementing with slow, steady, soothing music.
  2. Your chances of dying under general anesthesia are 11-16 per 100,000 and much does depend on the age and general level of health of the patient before the procedure.  The anesthesiologist is closely monitoring every aspect of your body rhythms and levels and has many ways of keeping you safe.
  3.  If you can meet with the anesthesiology team before the procedure, to discuss any concerns or previous surgery issues, or problems related to anesthesia that run in your family, that will let you rest easier.

Anesthesia is administered safely every day around the world, but if you’re having surgery for the first time, or have had a difficult experience with anesthesia in the past, then you want to be as well prepared as possible.

Hundreds of studies have been conducted on the use of music as an adjunct to anesthesia. Just last August (2015) the esteemed British Journal “The Lancet” published a huge meta-analysis of over 4000 studies on the use of music with surgery.  The overwhelming verdict is that music is a powerful and easy to administer adjunct to anesthesia.  And NOW, the study that was done last year at the VA Hospital here in Louisville, KY, is just about to be published in the International Journal of Anesthesia an Research (IJAR).  Our product is poised to be in every OR on the planet within 10 years and we are working day and night to get the price down to where individuals can afford it, as well as hospitals when they order in bulk.  Surgical Serenity Solutions has created cordless, pre-programmed headphones for the patient to wear, starting pre-surgery and continuing on through surgery and into the recovery room.  To learn more about these and purchase them, go to www.SurgicalSerenitySolutions.com.  You can reduce the amount of anesthesia required, have a safer procedure, and recover faster.

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Music After Surgery: PACU benefits

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CystoscopySSS

Music in the PACU

Have you used music after surgery in the PACU?  The surgery is over but the patient is still under anesthesia and just beginning to emerge.  The headphones are still on the patient’s head but is the music actually help the patient?  YES it is!  Based on the hundreds of people who have used the headphones, we have learned that the music can:

  • reduce nausea and vomiting
  • provide orientation to time and place, after being disoriented under anesthesia
  • allow for a faster release from the Post Anesthesia Care Unit
  • decrease perception of pain and pain med requirements
  • Help patient get back to the life before surgery was needed

Are these significant benefits?  You bet they are!  The thing about having the Surgical Serenity music playing from the moment you arrive at the hospital on the morning of surgery, is that it begins slowing down your rapid breathing (anxiety) and your rapid heartbeat (anxiety).  When you are anxious, your breathing becomes very shallow and rapid.  You feel like you might go into a “fight or flight” response.  How does the music slow down these involuntary responses?  It does it through a process called “Rhythmic Entrainment.”  This is the same phenomenon (from physics) that makes you clap your hands when you hear rhythmic music.  The process also works with slow, rhythmic music to calm you down by synchronizing your heartbeat and breathing to the pulse of the slow, rhythmic music.

healthy resting heartbeat entrains to music through headphones

Patient enjoying serene music that entrains with healthy resting heartbeat

When you go into surgery, the music helps KEEP the heart and breathing slow and steady, so you need less anesthesia during the surgery.  When this music is coming through our cordless headphones, patient doesn’t hear the surgeon’s conversation or music, which is often faster than healthy resting heartbeat.

By the time the patient gets to the recovery room, or PACU, the heartbeat and breathing remain slow and steady, but as the patient wakes up, the music helps to orient them to where they are and reminds them, in a positive way, of what just happened!  This is just a birdseye view of what happens when the patient uses our Surgical Serenity Solutions headphones during their surgery or other medical/dental procedure. To purchase these for your PACU or ASC, go to www.SurgicalSerenitySolutions.com/hospitalheadphones.

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