How long does it take for surgical anesthesia to wear off?

How long it takes for the surgical anesthetic to wear off depends mainly on the type of anesthesia. If it is spinal anesthesia or epidural anesthesia, it usually takes about three hours to recover. If it is general anesthesia, you will usually be able to wake up one hour after the operation, but you will need to lie flat for about six hours. Today's anesthesia techniques are generally more precise. As ordinary people, we should understand some correct knowledge about surgical anesthetics to avoid some misunderstandings.

Common Misconceptions Among People

Misconception 1: Will general anesthesia make children “stupid”?

At present, anesthesia technology is relatively mature, and anesthesia during surgery is relatively safe. Generally, anesthesia will not have adverse effects on children's intelligence. It may affect short-term memory, but will not affect long-term memory and intellectual development. Before the age of 3 is the golden period of rapid development of the human brain. Therefore, it is recommended that children under 3 years old can undergo elective surgery. Surgery can be performed after the child is 3 years old, of course, except for life-threatening emergency surgeries.

Some parents worry about the effects of anesthesia on their children, but do not consider that if anesthesia is not used, the impact on the children may be lifelong. It is very likely that because of a surgery without anesthesia when they were young, they will be overly sensitive to pain for the rest of their lives and suffer from excessive psychological fear stimulation. In this regard, foreign countries attach great importance to the psychological protection of children during the medical treatment process. Many people have undergone general anesthesia for gastroenteroscopy and cesarean section without any sequelae, but gastroenteroscopy in an awake state makes many people feel psychological pain when they think about it afterwards.

Misconception 2: General anesthesia causes the greatest harm to the human body?

The decision on general anesthesia, hemiplegia or local anesthesia is mainly based on clinical indications and contraindications, the patient's physical condition and the surgical site. Local anesthesia has less impact on the nervous system, and partial anesthesia also has little impact, but general anesthesia is currently relatively safe and does not have much risk.

General anesthesia is a type of anesthesia that affects the entire body, affecting the central nervous system, causing a person to lose consciousness and awareness, and causing the pain to disappear. It can relieve pain very well and can be used in a relatively wider range of surgeries. Even if partial anesthesia is initially chosen, which achieves the effect of pain relief by blocking the spinal nerve roots and is suitable for lower limb surgery, general anesthesia may be selected during the operation depending on the situation.

For example, in the case of surgery on the knee or foot, if the patient is a child who cannot cooperate well during the operation, or if the patient has a serious physical condition and is nervous about the operation, he or she cannot choose semi-body anesthesia and will eventually choose general anesthesia.

Misconception 3: Major surgeries require general anesthesia, while minor surgeries use local anesthesia?

Although there are major surgeries such as open surgery and minor surgeries such as minimally invasive surgery, the choice of anesthesia is not based on the size of the surgery. Experts say that even some minor surgeries, such as those treating vocal cord tumors or tracheal foreign bodies, must be performed using general anesthesia.