Every year 21 million people undergo anesthesia during surgery to put them asleep, but 1 in 700 remain awake. This is according to movie promoters of a new psychological thriller called “Awake”, which depicts just such a case. The real number may be much lower, 1 to 2 per 1,000 surgeries, or even less, according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
BIS Monitoring Anesthesia
“Safety has no substitute. Before going into surgery, most patients usually ask two questions. They want to know will I be asleep during surgery and are you going to wake me up," says Dr. Daniel Man, board certified plastic surgeon in Boca Raton, Florida. Now, thanks to a revolutionary device that monitors brain activity during surgery, Dr. Man and anesthesiologist Dr. Roger Gorman have an extra added margin of safety.
Angel On Our Shoulder
“BIS Monitoring is a giant step forward in the quest for patient safety and comfort during surgery,” says Dr. Man, who introduced the device to monitor patient’s level of consciousness during cosmetic surgery. “It's like having an angel on our shoulders,” echos Dr. Gorman. They feel that brain monitoring will provide a boon to surgeons and anesthesiologists everywhere.
Why use Brain Monitoring?
“Consciousness during surgery is just one area that BIS monitoring helps us out. With brain monitoring during anesthesia we know if patient’s are awake. BIS monitoring also helps patients recover quicker and better by helping us deliver just the right amount of anesthesia throughout their procedure,” explains Dr. Man.
According to Dr. Man, every patient is unique and requires a customized amount of anesthetic and sedative medication to ensure that they are unconscious and free of pain, yet able to wake-up quickly and experience minimal side-effects from anesthesia and sedation post operatively. “Now we know just the amount of anesthesia to give and the right level for the type of procedure," he says.
How Does BIS Monitoring Work?
Patients are monitored through special sensors placed on their foreheads. These sensors record brain wave activity and translate the information into a number between 1 and 100 that represents each patient’s level of consciousness. Using this number as a guide, the surgeon and anesthesiologist can provide optimal anesthesia and sedation. BIS (Bispectral Index technology) is a product of Aspect Medical Systems, Newton, Massachusetts.
Dr. Man is board certified in plastic surgery and a Diplomate of the American Board of Plastic Surgery. An active member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, he is the author of four books on cosmetic surgery including his latest, “The New Art of Man: Faces of Plastic Surgery CD-ROM” and “Man At Work: A Photographic Book of Plastic Surgery and Art” available online at www.drman.com.