Important Complications of Anaesthesia

There are three main types of anaesthesia General anaesthesia: the patient is sedated, using either intravenous medications or gaseous substances, and occasionally muscles paralysed, requiring control of breathing by mechanical ventilation Regional anaesthesia: this can be described as central where anaesthetic drugs are administered directly in or around the spinal cord, blocking the nerves of the spinal cord (eg, epidural or spinal anaesthesia). The main benefit of this method is that ventilation is not needed (provided the block is not too high). Regional anaesthesia can also be peripheral for example: Plexus blocks eg, brachial plexus. Nerve blocks eg, femoral. Intravenous blocks whilst preventing venous flow out of the region eg, Bier's block.