What will my anaesthetist need to know at the pre-operative visit?
Your anaesthetist will ask about your past and present health, smoking habits, alcohol consumption and any medicines you are taking. It is also important for the anaesthetist to know of drug allergies and whether you, or members of your family, have had an abnormal response to an anaesthetic. This is because there are rare, inherited conditions, where individuals react abnormally to anaesthetic drugs or paralysing agents (muscle relaxants). More commonly patients may say they feel excessively “sick” after anaesthetics, in which case a plan can be put in place to minimise these side effects. The anaesthetist needs to know the state of your teeth and whether you have dentures, crowns or loose teeth. An airway device is placed in the mouth even for short anaesthetics and for major surgery a tube is placed into the airway below the larynx. Damage to teeth can therefore occur, but can be avoided if the anaesthetist is forewarned of problems. Will the anaesthetic procedure be explained to me
