Spinal anesthesia

Spinal anesthesia is considered regional anesthesia intended mostly for surgeries in the lower body. This is anesthesia numbing the entire area so that the patient remains awake and aware of his surroundings, but doesn’t feel anything during the surgery. The features of the spinal anesthesia make it appropriate for many neurosurgeries, especially those relating to nerve treatment and nerve roots coming out of the lower back and innervating the lower limbs.

At the Herzliya medical center hospital, there are experienced and skilled anesthesiologists who regularly perform spinal anesthesia within different neurosurgeries.

How is spinal anesthesia performed?

As said, spinal anesthesia is considered regional anesthesia – similar to epidural anesthesia common in births – but unlike the latter, where the anesthetic is injected into the epidural space, spinal anesthesia is done via injection of the anesthetic directly into a fluid covering the spine (the CSF) which is in the thecal sac.

Thus, the anesthesia will be quicker and stronger and will usually require a relatively low dose of the anesthetic.

The anesthesia is usually done via a thin needle inserted into the lower back area when the patient is sitting hunched or lying on his side in the fetal position. It will sometimes be decided, before injecting the substance into the thecal sac, to perform local anesthesia to spare the patient the pain of the injection.

• Spinal anesthesia is felt gradually, but it’s very quick.
• The patient will first feel the heat in the lower limbs, which would begin to spread and within minutes the sensation in his entire lower body will go away.

It’s important to remember that before any medical procedure requiring anesthesia, the patient will meet the surgeon and the anesthesiologist for a preliminary assessment to allow determining the type of anesthesia desired in the action. As said, in neurosurgeries, spinal anesthesia will usually be done when the treatment focuses on damaged peripheral nerves in the lower limbs.

Expert anesthesiologists who are among the best in Israel work at the Herzliya medical center hospital.