Haut-Valais Anaesthesiology/Intensive Care Department

• Anaesthesia for surgical interventions (suppression of sensitivity to pain or of consciousness by means of various procedures and medicines)
• Pain therapy in cases of acute and chronic pain
• Resuscitation and emergency medicine
• Intensive care
• Specialists in anaesthesia take care of the safety and well-being of patients, in cooperation with specially trained anaesthetic staff. The anaesthetic team constantly monitors critical bodily functions such as breathing, cardiac function and circulation, during and after the operation, and immediately corrects them if necessary.

Thorough preparation of the anaesthesia (oral consultation and examinations during the anaesthesia consultation or during the premedication visit), combined with a constantly being refined procedure and perfectly tailored medicines, help us avoid, as much as possible, any complications or side effects.
Thanks to advances in the field of anaesthesia, all forms of anaesthesia have become extremely safe and complication-free. Serious and permanent complications during or after anaesthesia are very rare these days. A patient is never as thoroughly looked after and cared for as during an anaesthesia.

• Common Anaesthetic Techniques
  Various methods are available to guarantee a painless operation and a comfortable recovery phase. It is possible to combine them according to the patient’s needs.

• General Anaesthesia (Full Narcosis)
  During a general anaesthetic, the anaesthetist triggers a temporary state of loss of consciousness and of insensitivity to pain using medicines that function in various ways. The selection and dosage of the medicines allows the anaesthetist to remove the narcotic effect precisely according to requirements at the end of the operation and to thus facilitate a fast recovery of intellectual capacity.

• Spinal Anaesthesia
  A local anaesthetic (one that only takes effect on a part of the body) is injected into the cerebrospinal fluid underneath the spinal cord. The areas rendered insensitive to pain by this technique first become warm, then insensitive, and can no longer be moved for a certain period. Rarely, pain may be experienced after the anaesthesia, but this does not last long; it may be accompanied by nausea, headaches, feeling cold and shivering or difficulty in passing urine. These can immediately be treated using appropriate procedures. Nerve lesions and infections are extremely rare. In cases of intense or prolonged pain, you will be given appropriate treatment.

• Epidural Anaesthesia (Peridural)
  A local anaesthetic is injected into the interstice between the medullary envelope and the vertebral canal. The areas rendered insensitive to pain by this technique first become warm, then insensitive, and can no longer be moved for a certain period. Through the insertion of a catheter we can use this anaesthetic technique to treat pain after the operation if necessary. The pains and side effects are similar to those associated with spinal anaesthesia (see above).

• Local Anaesthesia, Anaesthesia at the Level of the Plexus
  Blocking of the nerves in the arm or the leg using a local anaesthetic. The extent and effectiveness of the block are tested before the operation. Should the analgesia be incomplete, general anaesthesia can be provided at any time.
  The term ‘IV block’ refers to a blocking of the nerves by means of the intravenous administration of a local anaesthetic.

• Local Anaesthesia with Stand-By Anaesthetic
  A local anaesthetic is infiltrated at the specified location (usually by a surgeon), accompanied by the additional administration of light sedatives or painkillers (if necessary) and monitoring by the anaesthetists. The option of providing local anaesthesia remains open at all times.