During most surgeries, the patient is made unconscious and paralyzed to protect him from pain and damage from involuntary movement. As a result of this paralysis, machines called ventilators must take over the work of breathing for the patient. A...
Health professionals will need to monitor the patient's breathing closely, as the swelling of the windpipe that's symptomatic of tracheitis can severely restrict breathing, leading to serious medical complications. If you or your child begins to...
Mucus plug, the excessive secretion of slippery substance produced by the cells lining the airways of the lungs, is a result of various respiratory conditions that exhibit mucus hypersecretion. These include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary...
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is a serious chronic lung condition that commonly develops in premature infants or babies with respiratory illnesses who require ventilator treatment. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia can cause shallow, rapid breathing and...
Oxygen is necessary for the cells in your body to make energy and survive. Since a person cannot live without oxygen it is important to address oxygen deficiency in any illness that can cause such a deficiency. Most commonly these are lung and...
Many children chew gum, yet very little is known about the potential hazards associated with this habit. The International Chewing Gum Association (ICGA) recommends that very small children do not chew gum, and advises that parents should judge at...
Silver is a heavy metal used in jewelry due to its natural luster and ease of being worked. Certain preparations have been used medically as a topical antibiotic and cauterizing agent. It occurs as an electrically neutral metal or as an ion, a...
Continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, is most commonly used in sleep medicine, but has other uses as well. For sleep apnea, CPAP provides continuous ventilatory support by pushing air or an air/oxygen mixture, at a set pressure, into the...
Although each individual surgical procedure has its own unique complications, generally many possibilities exist for one or more complications after surgery. The most important guideline for identifying complications is the patient's behavior and...
Although scientific minds are somewhat divided on this subject, it is still considered safe practice to cancel an elective surgery if cold symptoms are present in an adult or child. Anesthesia in itself promotes a host of potential side effects...
General anesthesia is a combination of inhaled and injected medications resulting in a lack of pain and no memory. This allows physicians and surgeons the opportunity to perform life-saving procedures, such as surgery. The effects of anesthesia...
The American Society of Anesthesiology agrees with the conventional definition of general anesthesia as a loss of consciousness induced by drugs, from which a patient cannot be aroused even with painful stimulation. Manipulating human physiology...
Heart bypass surgery or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) is commonly known as open-heart surgery. Typically, people with coronary artery disease in which vessels of the heart are blocked with hard build-up, called plaque, require heart bypass...
The rotator cuff, is a broad, tendinous structure that forms from a confluence of tendons that, together, are responsible for the major functions and motions of the shoulder. When torn sufficiently, the only successful treatment option is surgical...
Your doctor's instructions for the night before surgery serve an important purpose: They are designed to keep you safe. The reason you cannot eat after midnight on the night before surgery is to keep your stomach empty -- to prevent your stomach...
General anesthesia is an irreplaceable adjunct to modern surgery. General anesthesia ensures that patients are unconscious, feel no pain, have no memory of the surgery, remain still during the operation and have adequate autonomic nervous system,...
A baby who is born prior to the 37th week of gestation is considered a premature baby, according to PubMed Health. Most premature babies spend time in the neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU; however, some may be able to come home without...
Enterobacter cloacae is the most common Enterobacter species that can cause diseases in humans. This bacteria is widely distributed in water, sewage and soil, and in the feces of healthy persons. They are opportunistic pathogens and cause...
Anesthetics, sometimes also spelled "anaesthetics," are drugs used in surgical procedures to reduce or eliminate pain and shock in patients thereby reducing recovery times. According to the text "Basics of Anesthesia," an estimated 28 million...
Endotracheal intubation is a medical procedure that involves the placement of a tube into the trachea, or windpipe, to help unconscious or medically compromised people breathe. Typically, the breathing tube is placed through the mouth and into the...
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is a form of mechanical ventilation that assists a person with the work of breathing and thus allow better gas exchange within the lungs. CPAP machines are used in a variety of situations, both inside and...
Premature infants are babies who are born before the 37th week of gestation. A premature birth shortens the time for development and maturation in the womb. The risk of complications increases the earlier the baby is born. The result is an...
A breathing tube is generally inserted into your trachea through the mouth or nose while you're under anesthesia in preparation for a surgical procedure. In some cases, the tube will take over breathing for you entirely until recovery is underway....
Our voices are created by the vibration of two folds of mucus membrane housed within a cartilaginous box called the larynx. When air is expelled through the lungs these tightly stretched membranes, commonly known as the vocal cords, vibrate. By...
Crackles in the lungs, most often described as a “popping” sound, originate in the airway. The crackling noise comes from a blocked airway that opens suddenly, which causes the sound to reverberate through the airway. Crackles are...
