I would like to assure Tribune readers that awareness under general anesthesia (News, Feb. 28) almost never happens. We anesthesiologists agree that it would be extremely traumatic for a patient to feel pain and hear the operating room team talking while being unable to move or to show that one is not asleep. Because of advances in managing breathing, many anesthetized patients do not need to receive drugs to paralyze muscles and can breathe themselves. Our patients might take deeper breaths, or, if unable to move, show a rise in blood pressure or heart rate; these signs often indicate the need for more anesthetic well before the person would consciously perceive that the operation is in progress. Additional anesthetics are given and we watch our patient until the completion of surgery.
Vigilance is the motto of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, and we look for and respect the differences of all our patients when given our anesthetics.
