A new technique results in fewer side effects and quicker recovery after cancer surgery.
Dr. Timur Ozelsel, site chief of anesthesia at the Cross Cancer Institute (Cross), has pioneered a novel approach to local anesthesia that results in fewer side effects for individuals after surgery, earlier discharge from the hospital and a faster recovery.
General anesthesia puts patients into a state of artificial coma so they don’t move or feel pain during surgery; it requires intubation to control breathing and strong medication to keep patients sedated. It’s a trusted method, but it can leave patients with lingering side effects such as pain, nausea, vomiting and grogginess.
To counter this, Ozelsel developed an innovative way to use monitored anesthesia care in surgeries that previously used general anesthesia. Ozelsel’s method uses an anesthetic injection to induce a lighter state of sleep that does not require intubation. Unlike with general anesthesia, where patients require time to wake up and recover, monitored anesthesia care leaves patients alert, with minimal pain, and lower risk of common post-surgery side effects.
“Patients are wide awake at the end of surgery and can be discharged rapidly. They almost never experience pain, nausea and vomiting, and since we do not intubate them, they have no throat or jaw pain after,” says Ozelsel. Monitored anesthesia care is particularly beneficial for individuals who have experienced complications from general anesthesia or for vulnerable groups such as seniors.
Ozelsel, together with Dr. Ezekiel Weis, developed this groundbreaking technique during the COVID-19 pandemic to address concerns around spreading the COVID-19 virus during general anesthesia.
Ozelsel then approached Dr. Nikoo Rajaee, a breast cancer surgeon, to expand the use of this new approach.
To date, Ozelsel has successfully used monitored anesthesia care for surgeries related to breast, ocular and gynecological cancers, and for laser resurfacing of burn scars and procedures involving the bladder or prostate.
While the Cross is the only institution in North America currently offering this remarkable new method, Ozelsel hopes that monitored anesthesia care will one day become the standard of care, offering safer, more efficient and more comfortable surgical experiences.
