Anaesthesiologist: The Doctor Who Keeps Patients Safe Behind Every Surgery

Every type of surgery has a surgeon, whether the procedure is minor or major, planned or emergency, critical or non-critical. For most patients, the surgeon is the star performer and the superhero. Yet beside every surgeon stands another doctor who makes sure the patient stays safe from the first minute to the last. This doctor is the anaesthesiologist.
 

An anaesthesiologist is a highly skilled specialist doctor who takes care of the patient before, during, and after surgery. Because the role covers the entire surgical journey, the anaesthesiologist is also called a perioperative physician. The main aim is simple. The patient should feel no pain during the surgery and remember only the successful result.
 

The American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) describes this specialty as medical care that relieves pain and looks after the surgical patient completely, before, during, and after surgery.
 

How an Anaesthesiologist Keeps Patients Safe

• Before surgery: The patient’s health, past illnesses, and current medicines are checked, and the safest type of anaesthesia is chosen. The patient is also prepared mentally, and doubts or fears are cleared.
• During surgery: Heartbeat, breathing, blood pressure, and oxygen level are watched all the time. Medicines are given in the right amount for each patient, and the depth of anaesthesia is adjusted as needed so the patient stays safe while the surgeon works.
• After surgery: The patient is helped to wake up safely. Pain is controlled so that recovery is comfortable, and the body’s organs keep working as they did before the surgery.
   

In this way, the anaesthesiologist cares for the patient under anaesthesia and also creates the ideal conditions for a safe and successful surgery.
 

A Role Beyond the Operation Theatre

Anaesthesiologists do much more than put patients to sleep. Those who work in the intensive care unit (ICU), where very sick patients are treated, are called intensivists. They also play an important part in these areas:

• Chronic pain management: Pain that lasts for months, such as back pain, nerve pain, or joint pain, can disturb daily life and sleep. Anaesthesiologists find the cause and give relief with medicines and nerve blocks (injections that numb the painful nerve). This helps patients return to normal activities.
• Labour pain relief (labour analgesia): Labour pain can be very severe and tiring. Methods such as epidural analgesia (a small medicine injection near the spine) reduce the pain while the mother stays awake. This makes childbirth calmer and more comfortable.
• Palliative care: For patients with serious or long-term illness, the focus is on comfort and dignity. Anaesthesiologists control pain and other troubling symptoms, so the patient suffers less and feels more at peace.
• Emergency care: In accidents, severe breathing problems, or heart emergencies, every minute matters. Anaesthesiologists are skilled in keeping the airway open, supporting breathing and blood flow, and stabilising the patient quickly.
• Disaster management: When many people are injured at the same time, such as in road accidents, fires, or natural disasters, anaesthesiologists help with quick assessment, life support, pain relief, and safe transfer to hospital. Their skills help save as many lives as possible.
   

It is often said that an anaesthesiologist is a physician to the surgeon and a surgeon to the physician. This means the role combines the knowledge of medicine with the skills of surgery.

The Unsung Hero of Every Surgery

Behind every successful surgery is an anaesthesiologist who works quietly, watches the patient carefully, and is always ready for the unexpected. Safe and pain-free surgery is possible because of this care, from the first check-up to a comfortable recovery.
 

At Sri Sai Hospital, anaesthesia care is provided by Dr. Smitha, MBBS, MD (Anaesthesia), who looks after patients before, during, and after surgery.