Anesthesia Aphorism

Écrit par Daniel Wintersdorf Jeudi, 03 Juin 2010 08:24

1-Anesthesia is terribly simple but sometimes can be simply terrible

2-If you can’t manage the surgeon, you have no business managing the anesthetic.

3-There is a direct relationship between the number of tattoos and the propofol dose.

4-There is an inverse relationship between the number of tattoos and the tolerance to regional anesthesia.

5-There is an inverse relationship between a surgeon’s ability and the frequency that he/she asks for more muscle relaxant

6-There is no vital organ in the body that cannot be reached with a two-inch needle.

7-There is no condition that cannot be made worse by surgery (and/or anesthesia).

8-Every patient is a “preop” — it’s just a matter of figuring out for what!

9-Practice is the best of all instructors.

10-Numbers are tools, not rules.

11-Patients don’t die from their disease; they die from the physiologic consequences of their disease (Osler).

12-Levophed, or leave them dead.

13-If you can feel a pulse, don’t panic.

14-Fibrillation is a sign of life.

15-Be wary of patients whose risk exceeds their ejection fraction.

16-Treat the patient, not the monitor.

17-Never anesthetize a patient who isn’t there.

18-The more effective the case, the more selective your evaluation.

19-Chance of survival drops precipitously as the BUN exceeds the body weight.

20-The more the ECG resembles the EEG, the sicker the heart.

21-Never block pain that isn’t there.

22-It is much easier to add (drugs) then to subtract (them).

23-No block ever fails, some just have to be supplemented more than others.

24-Fifteen minutes spent preoperatively with a patient is worth 15 mg of morphine as a premedicant.

25-Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.

26-Experience is what lets you recognize your mistake the second time you make it.

27-Worry about the blood loss you hear

28-You need more venous access when the surgeon is operating near a blood vessel you can name.

29-When things go wrong, focus on the problem, not the blame.

30-The poor surgeon needs good anesthesia, the good surgeon deserves it.

31-Patients do not know or really do not care about your job description.

32-Safety first, but patient comfort and good will immediately behind.

33-Never promise a patient anything that is not in your power to provide

34-A patient is not always right but is never wrong (perhaps uninformed, uneducated or ignorant, but not wrong).

35-Watch carefully what you do.Function before beauty (or style).

36-The lesser the indication, the greater the complication.

37-The patient is the most important person in the operating room.

38-Treat every patient as you would like to be treated.

39-Always be mindful of the “person” in the patient.