On Pins and Needles

Spinal anesthesia is still a popular alternative to general technique for certain types of surgery, but every anesthetic technique has its limitations, including spinal anesthesia.

In today’s episode, the limitations of spinal anesthesia are on display when a first-year anesthesia resident is assigned to the orthopedic “total joint” room.

In the hands of a master, spinal anesthesia is a beautiful and elegant alternative to general anesthesia. In the hands of an inexperienced anesthesia resident, spinal anesthesia can suddenly and unexpectedly devolve into the “one percent.”

You may be wondering how spinal anesthesia can go so wrong. Truth be told, in about a million and a half different ways…