Obstetric anesthesia
Anesthesia and analgesia for caesarean section and for labour, for both planned and emergency delivery.
Anesthesia
Someone has to be awake while you are not
The anesthesiologist decides whether you are fit for the operation, holds your breathing, heart rhythm and blood pressure steady while the surgeon works, and plans how you will be kept comfortable afterwards. Dr. Djunda has done this at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital since 2001, and has been a consultant there since 2014.
Areas of practice
Every theatre in the hospital
A teaching-hospital anesthesia practice covers every list in the building. These are the areas he works across.
General anesthesia
Full anesthesia care for surgery, from the pre-operative assessment through to the recovery room.
Regional anesthesia
Spinals, epidurals and nerve blocks that numb one part of the body while you stay awake or lightly sedated.
Orthopedic anesthesia
Anesthesia for bone and joint surgery, where a good regional block makes a large difference to the first days after the operation.
Pediatric anesthesia
Anesthesia for children, with the dosing, airway and monitoring differences that a child needs.
Neuro anesthesia
Anesthesia for brain and spine surgery, where blood pressure and brain pressure have to be held within a narrow range.
Ophthalmic anesthesia
Eye surgery, usually under local or regional block with sedation.
Day-case anesthesia
Anesthesia planned so that you can go home the same day, safely and without lingering nausea or grogginess.
Before an operation
The four questions patients ask first
- Will I be asleep?
- Not always. Some operations are done under a spinal, an epidural or a nerve block, where one region is numbed and you stay awake or lightly sedated. Which is right depends on the operation, your health and what you prefer once the options are explained.
- What happens before the day?
- A pre-operative assessment: your medical history, your medication, previous anesthetics and any reactions in the family, and the tests needed to make the anesthetic safe for you.
- What about pain afterwards?
- The plan for pain after the operation is made before it starts, and reviewed in the recovery room. Good regional blocks in particular change how the first days feel.
- Can I have surgery without a blood transfusion?
- Bloodless techniques are a specific interest. Dr. Djunda is a member of the Bloodless Medicine and Surgery Society of Nigeria. Raise it early so the whole team can plan for it.
These are general explanations. What applies to you depends on your own health and the operation you are having, and is settled at the pre-operative review.
Have an operation coming up?
Request a pre-operative review and bring your test results and current medication with you.