“Why is an epidural better than general anesthesia?”
I will have surgery under general anesthesia. The doctor told me it is better than general anesthesia. Is it true?
5 Answers
Having an epidural for surgery can have advantages. You have to realize that surgery is essentially trauma to the human body. Having an epidural blunts the stress response to surgery.
Dr. Aaron Michael Kalin
Anesthesiologist | Pain Medicine
This is highly variable depending on the location and duration of the surgery. Notwithstanding, it also depends on how healthy you are as a patient!
An epidural is not better than a general anesthetic. They are both excellent methods to achieve comfort safely for a procedure. There may be specific reasons why one is better than the other, or if the patient has a preference.
Or you can do a combination of both, or start with an epidural and change into a general if the epidural is not working well.
Your best bet is to discuss with your anesthesiologist (physician) or CRNA (nurse) depending on what level of training that person has.
Or you can do a combination of both, or start with an epidural and change into a general if the epidural is not working well.
Your best bet is to discuss with your anesthesiologist (physician) or CRNA (nurse) depending on what level of training that person has.
It depends on the specific surgery, the patient & co- morbidities and other factors. Neither epidural nor general is good without consideration of the above factors.
This all depends on what particular surgery you are having and what is your medical history. With an epidural, you don’t have a breathing tube nor do you breathe anesthetic gas. There are some advantages to this depending on your medical history and experience with general anesthesia.
"Artists are the people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide." -Donald Woods Winnicott
"Artists are the people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide." -Donald Woods Winnicott
