Care of the Surgical Patient
The anaesthesiologist is the perioperative
physician (“peri-” meaning “all-around”) providing medical care to each
patient through his or her surgical experience.
This includes medically evaluating the patient before surgery (preoperative), consulting with the surgical team, providing pain control and supporting life functions during surgery (intraoperative), supervising care after surgery (postoperative) discharging the patient from the recovery unit.
Critical Care and Trauma Medicine
Anaesthesiologists are uniquely qualified
to coordinate the care of patients in the intensive care unit because of their
extensive training in clinical physiology/pharmacology and resuscitation. Some
anaesthesiologists pursue advanced fellowship training to subspecialize in
critical care medicine. In the intensive care unit, they direct the complete
medical care for the sickest patients. The role of the anaesthesiologist in
this setting includes the provision of medical assessment and diagnosis,
respiratory and cardiovascular support, and infection control.
Anaesthesiologists also possess the medical knowledge and technical expertise to deal with many emergency and trauma situations. They provide airway management, cardiac and pulmonary resuscitation, advanced life support and pain control. As consultants, they play an active role in stabilizing and preparing the patient for emergency surgery.
Pain Medicine
Because of their specialty training and
vast experience in controlling pain during surgery, anaesthesiologists are
uniquely qualified to prescribe and administer drug therapies or perform
special techniques for acute, chronic and cancer pain. Here are two of the most
common areas in which anaesthesiologists treat pain:
Acute
Pain Management
Includes preoperative pain relief in trauma,postoperative pain relief,labour analgesia i.e painless labour.
Chronic and Cancer Pain Management
Anaesthesiologists are the vanguard of those who are developing new therapies for chronic pain syndromes and cancer-related pain. Anaesthesiologists who specialize in the treatment of chronic pain often dedicate their practices exclusively to a multidisciplinary approach to pain medicine, working collaboratively with other medical specialists in a pain clinic.
