Injury during anaesthesia

Abstract

Introduction Injury during the perioperative period refers to inadvertent damage of organs and systems as a result of surgical or anaesthetic intervention. Injury during anaesthesia is an uncommon perioperative complication despite the increasing complexity of surgical practices and techniques, as well as operating on higher risk patients in more advanced age, and with increasingly complex co-morbidities. Many of the injuries occurring are surgery related but these are often intended as a part of surgery. Unfortunately there is a still a wide array of unintentional injuries associated with surgical treatment occurring in the modern practice. In this chapter we will discuss the management of the commonest injuries related to anaesthesia, positioning and invasive procedures. Dental injury Dental damage is a frequently reported injury associated with general anaesthesia, with an incidence of 1%. Of these, only 2% require intervention. The severity of the injury ranges from scratching or chipping of teeth to loosening, fractures and avulsions. Dental trauma accounts for between 20 and 50% of litigation claims related to general anaesthesia, but these are generally not expensive to settle. It has to be mentioned that some of the dental injuries are in fact associated with surgical interventions (rigid bronchoscopy or pharyngoscopy).