EXPERT
Dr. Bernard Wittels, M.D., PH.D.
Anesthesiologist
Dr. Bernard Wittels is an anesthesiologist practicing in Evanston, IL. Dr. Wittels ensures the safety of patients who are about to undergo surgery. Anestesiologists specialize in general anesthesia, which will (put the patient to sleep), sedation, which will calm the patient or make him or her unaware of the situation, and regional anesthesia, which just numbs a specific part of the body. As an anesthesiologist, Dr. Wittels also might help manage pain after an operation.
38 years
Experience
Dr. Bernard Wittels, M.D., PH.D.
- Evanston, IL
- University Of Chicago Div Of Bio Sci Pritzker School Of Medicine
- Accepting new patients
The Silent Killer
She moves in a stealthy manner, makes no sounds, emits no scent, you insist that you don’t know her and you have no reason to be suspicious of anything. Who is this sly culprit?...
Pain-Free Labor and Delivery
Many pregnant women near their delivery date have preconceived notions about the management of their labor and delivery. Some plan a “natural” delivery, some want only intravenous...
What are the side effects of local anesthesia?
Mild discomfort or transient pain on injection.
Is general anesthesia safe for children?
At the age of 12, your son's brain has fully developed and general anesthesia should be safe. At younger ages (up to 2 years old), the brain is not fully developed and there is READ MORE
At the age of 12, your son's brain has fully developed and general anesthesia should be safe. At younger ages (up to 2 years old), the brain is not fully developed and there is controversy regarding any effects of general anesthesia on higher learning.
Do they put you to sleep for leg surgery?
This depends on the kind of leg surgery you are going to have. You may have a regional anesthetic (spinal, epidural, or combined spinal-epidural anesthesia), or if in a specific READ MORE
This depends on the kind of leg surgery you are going to have. You may have a regional anesthetic (spinal, epidural, or combined spinal-epidural anesthesia), or if in a specific area of your leg, your anesthesiologist may be able to give your a peripheral nerve block with intravenous sedation. Ask your anesthesiologist.
Does a breathing tube have to be used during the operation?
First of all, appendectomy can be done with spinal anesthesia or general anesthesia; second, the use of general anesthesia for an open appendectomy can be performed using a laryngeal READ MORE
First of all, appendectomy can be done with spinal anesthesia or general anesthesia; second, the use of general anesthesia for an open appendectomy can be performed using a laryngeal mask airway. If a laparoscopic appendectomy is to be performed, then endotracheal anesthesia is the only safe option.
What is the chance of a serious complication from anesthesia?
Anesthesia administered in a hospital setting in the daytime by a board-certified anesthesiologist carries less risk of a serious complication than the chance of getting hit by READ MORE
Anesthesia administered in a hospital setting in the daytime by a board-certified anesthesiologist carries less risk of a serious complication than the chance of getting hit by a car while crossing a street.
What happens when you can't wake up from anesthesia?
Waking up after general anesthesia may be delayed in patients who are obese, elderly, or have obstructive sleep apnea. This delay can be minutes to hours, but your anesthesiologist READ MORE
Waking up after general anesthesia may be delayed in patients who are obese, elderly, or have obstructive sleep apnea. This delay can be minutes to hours, but your anesthesiologist monitors you closely throughout this process until you awaken, stable and comfortable. All patients eventually wake up, recover, and do well.
Can I be asleep for my oral surgery?
In all likelihood, you should be able to undergo general anesthesia for your jaw surgery, but you must follow the instructions of your anesthesia care team before surgery, including READ MORE
In all likelihood, you should be able to undergo general anesthesia for your jaw surgery, but you must follow the instructions of your anesthesia care team before surgery, including no food or drink after midnight the night before surgery, and medical clearance from your anesthesiologist.
Will my daughter be put to sleep for a dental procedure?
If your dentist has privileges at a hospital, then the root canal can be done with general anesthesia in an operating room in that hospital. In the dentist's office, the dentist READ MORE
If your dentist has privileges at a hospital, then the root canal can be done with general anesthesia in an operating room in that hospital. In the dentist's office, the dentist can give your daughter an intramuscular or intravenous injection of a drug or drugs to calm and relax her, but dentists are generally not privileged to administer general anesthesia. In fact, there have been several case reports of children suffering brain damage or death from hypoxia secondary to dentist-administered general anesthesia.
Can a tonsillectomy be done under local anesthesia?
Tonsillectomies always require general anesthesia because the surgeons requires a perfectly still operative field, and he uses a special laryngoscope, throat packing with gauze, READ MORE
Tonsillectomies always require general anesthesia because the surgeons requires a perfectly still operative field, and he uses a special laryngoscope, throat packing with gauze, and electrocautery to control bleeding -- all painful procedures that cannot be done on an awake patient.
How long does it take to feel normal after general anesthesia?
If you are having spine surgery, you probably have some problem with your back or your legs, so recovery to normal function and sensation in your legs depends on the success of READ MORE
If you are having spine surgery, you probably have some problem with your back or your legs, so recovery to normal function and sensation in your legs depends on the success of the surgery. As far as waking up after general anesthesia, it is basically the same for all surgeries. In the first minutes after waking up, it is normal to be drowsy, but that dissipates over the next hour or so. Almost all of the effects of intraoperative anesthetics will have dissipated completely after 48 hours.
How is anesthesia administered to child afraid of needles?
Children can be put to sleep in a pleasant manner using a mask (that has a bubble gum or peppermint smell) and having the child breathe anesthetic gases that induce a gentle sleepiness READ MORE
Children can be put to sleep in a pleasant manner using a mask (that has a bubble gum or peppermint smell) and having the child breathe anesthetic gases that induce a gentle sleepiness that leads to the unconsciousness of general anesthesia.
What does a dentist use to put you to sleep?
Your dentist will probably use a small nasal mask with nitrous oxide gas that you breathe spontaneously. Other dentists use intravenous drugs such as midazolam or ketamine. No READ MORE
Your dentist will probably use a small nasal mask with nitrous oxide gas that you breathe spontaneously. Other dentists use intravenous drugs such as midazolam or ketamine. No dentist office has immediate access to the expertise of an anesthesiologist if airway rescue or rescuscitation is needed unless your dentist has privileges at a hospital that provides those services.
What should I do before general anesthesia?
Do not eat or drink anything after midnight the night before surgery, except for certain important medications (beta blockers, diuretics, antihypertensive medications), but do READ MORE
Do not eat or drink anything after midnight the night before surgery, except for certain important medications (beta blockers, diuretics, antihypertensive medications), but do not take ACE inhibitors or ARB's as those drugs interact with general anesthetics to cause profoundly low blood pressure.
Are you put to sleep for an endoscopy?
If you are lucky enough to have an anesthesiologist care for you, you will receive deep sedation (like taking a nice quiet nap at home) for your endoscopy and should awaken soon READ MORE
If you are lucky enough to have an anesthesiologist care for you, you will receive deep sedation (like taking a nice quiet nap at home) for your endoscopy and should awaken soon afterward with no adverse effects.
Can dentist put you to sleep for fillings?
You should never expect anyone but an anesthesiologist to put you to sleep. General anesthesia by a dentist would be unsafe. Your dentist can give local anesthesia, but if you READ MORE
You should never expect anyone but an anesthesiologist to put you to sleep. General anesthesia by a dentist would be unsafe. Your dentist can give local anesthesia, but if you want general anesthesia, it should be done in an operating room in a hospital.
Which anesthesia will be used for my leg surgery?
Ask your anesthesiologist.
Does anesthesia cause memory loss?
One of the most commonly administered drug types is benzodiazepines, the most frequently used is midazolam. Although midazolam has a short plasma half-life, clinical studies have READ MORE
One of the most commonly administered drug types is benzodiazepines, the most frequently used is midazolam. Although midazolam has a short plasma half-life, clinical studies have shown that the drug's pharmacodynamics differ greatly from its pharmacokinetics. What this means is that even though the drug may be 99% dissipated from the bloodstream 24 hours after administration, its effects on amnesia, and critical thinking skills can persist for more than a week, especially in elderly patients. If this memory problem persists for more than a month, then the patient should be tested for cerebrovascular disease, and the anesthesia record should be reviewed for any evidence of profound intraoperative hypotension as sources
of transient cerebral ischemia.
of transient cerebral ischemia.
What are the after effects of anesthesia?
General anesthesia for gall bladder removal, if done through laparoscopic and not open surgery, usually leads to a recovery with little pain, and usually you can be discharged READ MORE
General anesthesia for gall bladder removal, if done through laparoscopic and not open surgery, usually leads to a recovery with little pain, and usually you can be discharged to home the same day as surgery. Otherwise, the normal side effects of general anesthesia still apply: transient grogginess when first awakening, mild sore throat or hoarse voice that is usually mild or absent, and a risk of nausea that can be easily treated.
Which anesthesia is used during abdominal hernia surgery?
General anesthesia is usually used for incisional and umbilical hernia repairs. Inguinal hernia repairs are also usually done under general anesthesia, but some very stoic or elderly READ MORE
General anesthesia is usually used for incisional and umbilical hernia repairs. Inguinal hernia repairs are also usually done under general anesthesia, but some very stoic or elderly patients can have inguinal hernia repairs done with local anesthesia and IV sedation.
