General anesthesia is the term used when a drug is used to make a patient unconscious in order to properly perform a medical procedure. Anesthesia ensures that the patient feels no pain during the process and also cannot interfere with or affect the procedure. There is always an inherent risk of complication due to anesthesia although in modern medicine, this risk is minimal. It is also difficult to understand whether anesthesia or the medical procedure being performed is to be blamed in case of complications arising. However, anesthesia performed by a trained medical professional is generally not considered to be very dangerous.
There are several side effects associated with anesthesia; these include drowsiness, vomiting, aches and pains, and anxiety upon waking up from anesthesia. However, being an infant is an advantage in this situation as infants are much easier to deal with than young children both before and after the procedure. It is advisable to have an anesthesiologist who is trained in dealing with infants. Also, you must be clear with your doctors about any conditions that you know your infant to have. Communicating these before the procedure will ensure that safeguards are taken against any complications that these conditions might cause. This is an essential step, and should not be omitted in any case.
A cystoscopy is done to diagnose problems with the urinary tract, the urinary bladder and possibly kidney function. It is a process whereby a scope is introduced through the opening of the urethra, which is the tube that carries urine out of the body. Upon introduction, the scope travels up the urethra into the bladder. On the way, the doctor is aided by various lenses that magnify the urethra as the scope rises into the body. This allows the doctor to diagnose any problem that the infant is facing by visually identifying any deformity or abnormality.
In the case of an infant, it is less complicated than performing a cystoscopy on a toddler. Your infant will feel minimal or no discomfort after the procedure and should return to normal as soon as the drowsiness of the anesthesia procedure wears off. It is therefore recommended to go ahead with this procedure as it is better to diagnose any problems the infant might have as early as possible in life so as to provide a timely and effective solution. Any delay will only complicate the condition make matters difficult when dealing with the child through the administration of anesthesia right up to the after effects of the cystoscopy.
Submitted by M T on March 5, 2010 at 12:44