“What should you not do before regional anesthesia?”
My 76 year old mother will be having regional anesthesia for a procedure. What should you not do before regional anesthesia?
3 Answers
You should not eat or drink in close proximity (within 6 hours) of any anesthetic.
If she is an otherwise healthy individual, then nothing special is prohibited. If she is on blood thinners, then a risk-benefit analysis needs to be done. Other things that are important are the patient needs to be cooperative and no infection should be present in the blood. If she is getting a spinal, then previous spinal surgery can make it harder to place.
Do not eat solid food for eight hours. Clear liquids allowed up to four hours before surgery.
