Anaesthesia

Anaesthesia means «insensitivity» and is the generic term for all types of anaesthesia that enable an operation to be performed.

Types of anaesthetic procedures

General anaesthesia puts the whole body into a sleep-like state. The perception of external stimuli, especially the sensation of pain, is suppressed, which makes surgery painless and stress-free. During a general anaesthetic, breathing must be artificially supported.

During regional anaesthesia (local anaesthetic) only a part of the body (e.g. an arm) is made insensitive.

During each anaesthetic we continuously monitor your general condition. We check your breathing, blood pressure and many other bodily functions.

Pre-operative consultation

During the pre-operative consultation, the anaesthetist will inform you personally about the general procedure and the advantages and disadvantages of the various anaesthetic procedures. The information sheet «Information and consent for anaesthesia» will help you to prepare for this discussion. Please read it through, make a note of any questions and bring it with you to the pre-operative consultation.

For optimal preparation, please complete the anaesthesia questionnaire carefully and, if you have not already done so, send it to us as soon as possible (preferably electronically to praeoperative.sprechstunde@STOP-SPAM.zgks.ch). If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by phone +41 41 399 33 15 or e-mail praeoperative.sprechstunde@STOP-SPAM.zgks.ch.

Obstetric pain therapy

The standard method of pain relief is obstetric peridural anaesthesia via a peridural catheter. If necessary, we can offer you PCA (patient controlled analgesia) with remifentanil.

Before the due date, you will receive the information sheet «Explanatory notes and consent for obstetric pain therapy and anaesthesia» and the «Anaesthesia questionnaire» from the midwife on the occasion of a pregnancy check. We ask you to read through both documents, fill them in and bring them signed to the birth. This is important, as there is hardly any time for an explanatory talk during the birth.