“Do you breathe on your own under general anesthesia?”
I am a 42 year old male. I will have surgery under general anesthesia. Do you breathe on your own under anesthesia?
4 Answers
Yes and no. It depends on how deep your anesthesia and muscle paralysis is.
It depends. We give muscle relaxants to allow the surgeon to perform certain types of surgery, but if they do not require total relaxation, then we will not give this drug and allow the patient to breath. I hope this helps.
If your surgeon requires a motionless surgical field, then controlled ventilation with muscle paralysis is used; if your surgeon is doing a minor procedure with minimal painful stimuli, then you can remain unconscious and breathe on your own.
Under general anesthesia, you are paralyzed, and a mechanical ventilator will breathe for you.
