Anesthesia and the Obese Patient

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A patient undergoing surgery has only a few concerns regarding a successful operation. The main priority is the efficacy of the operation itself. Equally critical to a patient, however, is the assurance of anesthesia. Precise methods of anesthesia application vary according to each patient’s physiological conditions. Clinical anesthesia use on the obese is particularly complex, posing dangers to the patients. As complications continue to arise from the use of anesthesia on the obese, mandatory measures such as additional anesthetist training should be implemented on all perioperative stages to reduce risks to this growing patient population. Obesity is now considered a global epidemic, with particularly concentrated numbers in the United States. In 2011-2012 more than one-third of U.S. adults were estimated to be obese (National Center for Health Statistics, 2013). Due to the increasing prevalence of the epidemic, anesthesiologists must manage a significant number of clinically obese patients. A large range of physiological variations are associated with obesity, including cardiac, respiratory, and metabolic functions (Leykin, v). The areas of concern for anesthesiologists when operating on the obese can be separated into three perioperative stages: preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative. Preoperative concerns are primarily focused around the specific medical conditions of each patient. As anesthesia is intricately tailored to patient specific requirements, it is of central importance that all factors are taken into consideration before surgery. This is especially true for the obese, who are likely to suffer from comorbidities (having more than one disease). Metabolic syndrome, a collective set of ... ... middle of paper ... ...1 (2012): 81-88. Web. Myatt, John, and Kevin Haire. "Airway Management in Obese Patients." Current Anaesthesia & Critical Care 21.1 (2010): 9-15. Web. Neligan, Patrick J. "Metabolic Syndrome: Anesthesia for Morbid Obesity." Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology 23.3 (2010): 375-83. Web. Novation. Bariatric Supplies Market Research Report. Rep. N.p., Nov. 2012. Web. Porhomayon, J., P. Papadakos, and ND Nader. "Alteration in Respiratory Physiology in Obesity for Anesthesia-critical Care Physician." HSR Proceedings in Intensive Care and Cardiovascular Anesthesia 3.2 (2011): 109-18. Web. "Prevalence of Obesity Among Adults: United States, 2011–2012." National Center for Health Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. . Stone, Julian, and William Fawcett. Anaesthesia at a Glance. N.p.: Wiley, 2013. Print.

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