Most Patients Can Keep Using GLP-1 Weight Loss Meds Before Surgeries

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• October 31, 2024
• Full Page

A new guidance issued jointly by groups representing U.S. surgeons, anesthesiologists and gastroenterologists affirms that most people taking popular GLP-1 weight-loss meds can keep taking them in the weeks before a surgery.

Concerns had arisen because the drugs, which i...

How Wildfire Smoke Could Be Harming Surgical Patients

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• August 6, 2024
• Full Page

Wildfire smoke could interfere with the safety of surgeries, a new study warns.

Inhaling the smoke could complicate the effects of anesthesia on surgical patients, and it also might hamper their recovery, researchers reported Aug. 6 in the journal Anesthesiology...

Study Supports Safety of High-Dose General Anesthesia

• Carole Tanzer Miller HealthDay Reporter
• June 10, 2024
• Full Page

Older adults who avoid surgery because they fear general anesthesia will cause thinking declines need not worry, researchers report.

A study of more than 1,000 patients who had heart surgery at four hospitals in Canada found that the amount of anesthesia used did not aff...

Epidurals Linked to Better Outcomes After Childbirth

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 28, 2024
• Full Page

Women who get an epidural during delivery appear to have a marked reduction in serious complications the first few weeks after giving birt...

Precautions Needed When Folks Taking Ozempic, Wegovy Undergo Anesthesia

• Carole Tanzer Miller HealthDay Reporter
• March 13, 2024
• Full Page

Nurses who specialize in anesthesia have issued new guidelines to reduce the risk that patients taking weight-loss drugs like Ozempic or Wegovy...

Wegovy, Ozempic Use Could Complicate Your Surgery

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 6, 2024
• Full Page

Weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic can increase a person's risk of throwing up during surgery while under anesthesia, a new study reports.

People are typically asked to fast prior to surgery because general anesthesia can cause nausea, and they might inhale and ch...

Could General Anesthesia in Pregnancy Raise Behavioral Issues in Kids?

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 4, 2024
• Full Page

Children exposed to anesthesia in the womb when their pregnant mom has surgery are more likely to suffer from behavioral issues later, a new study finds.

Exposure to general anesthesia before birth was associated with a 31% increased risk of diagnosis with a behavioral d...

'High Altitude' Simulations Might Shield Patients Ahead of Surgery

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• December 4, 2023
• Full Page

Surgery coming up? Mimicking the high-altitude breathing of mountaineers might make your procedure safer, a tiny study suggests.

It's a form of what surgeons call "prehabilitation:" Making a patient's body a bit fitter beforehand to withstand the risks and rigors of surg...

No Sign That Anesthesia in Pregnancy Affects Child's Later Development

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• October 28, 2022
• Full Page

Moms who have had emergency surgery during pregnancy can rest assured that exposure to anesthesia is not linked to developmental issues in their children, a new study reveals.

While surgery and anesthe...

Quieter ORs May Make for Happier Kids After Surgery

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• October 26, 2022
• Full Page

The key to better child behavior after surgery may be a more peaceful operating room.

"The period before, during and after surgery is a particularly unpredictable time for parents,"explained Nguyen Tram, a research scientist at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus,...

Marijuana Users May Feel More Post-Surgery Pain: Study

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• October 24, 2022
• Full Page

Folks who regularly use weed could be in for a rocky road if they ever require major surgery, a new study reports.

Frequent marijuana users tend to experience more pain as they recover ...

Overworked Anesthesiologists Can Put Surgical Patients at Risk

• By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• July 21, 2022
• Full Page

Harried, overworked anesthesiologists could be raising hospital patients' risk of death and complications, a new study reports.

It's not uncommon to have one anesthesiologist directing the ...

What Anesthesia Works Best for Hip Fracture Surgery?

• By Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporter
• June 20, 2022
• Full Page

Patients who have spinal anesthesia while doctors repair a broken hip have more pain and need more prescription painkillers afterward than those given general anesthesia, a ...

'Mental Resilience' May Give Holocaust Survivors an Edge After Surgery

• By Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporter
• June 6, 2022
• Full Page

Holocaust survivors have a lower risk of delirium after surgery than others their age, and a new study suggests it may owe to mental resilience developed in response to their horrific experiences.

"Given that