Combining medical science and knowledge to ensure that the patient is able to undergo surgery without pain and post-operative pain is minimised.

The anaesthetist administers the anaesthetic to the patient, remaining by his or her side throughout surgery, monitoring the patient's condition, controlling the  blood pressure, pulse, heartbeat, breathing, body temperature and vital signs during surgery until the patient awakes. The anaesthetic prevents treats and compensates for medical problems that may occur during or after the surgery.

The three techniques to anaesthesia are general, regional and local.

General anaesthetic: promotes total unconsciousness (hypnotic), the coma being controlled by inhaled and intravenous medication.

Anaesthetic induction is the period it takes to fall into a state of unconsciousness. Consequently, the patient will no longer be able to breathe by him- or herself, often the introduction of a small tracheal tube being necessary to assure ventilation.

Inhaled anaesthetic is mostly used for children and is administered through a mask.

Regional anaesthetic: In this case the patient is awake or lightly unconscious, but easily awoken if necessary. It is administered to various parts of the body by means of injection into a specific nervous area, provoking numbness and insensitivity. Examples of this type of anaesthetic are the spinal anaesthetics (epidural or continuous spinal anaesthetic).

Local anaesthetic: Administered to the patient who is totally awake and is injected into a specific area. It is only indicated for minor surgery in areas away from important organs.

All operations carry risk related to factors such as the type of surgery, previous medical history, smoking and obesity, among others. The risk cannot be completely removed but medical advances and the introduction of new medications, equipment and anaesthetic techniques as well as better training and more demanding quality standards have made anaesthesia safer, carrying a similar risk to car travel.

The most common complications of anaesthesia, such as itching, nausea, vomiting, do not endanger the patient. The more serious complications are less common such as severe allergic reactions or problems specific to patients resulting from their genetic make-up, or physical difficulties fitting the ventilation mask and/ or tubing delivering the anaesthetic.

With modern techniques and medication, waking up after anaesthesia normally occurs gradually and without discomfort. The most common symptoms are nausea, vomiting and pain. However, before the surgery ends, the anaesthesiologist will administer medication to prevent these and other symptoms.

Immediately after surgery, the patient remains in a recovery room for a period of time, so that his or her response to anaesthesia can be kept under observation. During this period, the patient’s breathing and circulatory functions as well as consciousness levels will be monitored until he or she is stable enough to be transferred to a room or ward.