The surgical schedule, including the time and location of your operation, is typically finalized the day before your procedure. However, the order of surgeries may change due to emergencies.
General anesthesia suppresses protective reflexes, such as swallowing and coughing, which can increase the risk of stomach contents entering the airway and causing a severe lung infection. The less food or liquid in your stomach, the lower this risk. For your safety, you must avoid eating solid foods for at least six hours and drinking liquids for at least two hours before anesthesia.
Your anesthesiologist will carefully monitor your vital signs and the depth of anesthesia throughout the procedure. Modern medications allow precise and quick adjustments, so you do not need to worry about waking up during surgery.
The type of anesthesia suitable for your surgery—general, local, or regional—depends on various factors. These options will be discussed with your anesthesiologist during your consultation, where the advantages and disadvantages of each method will be reviewed. In some cases, local or regional anesthesia can be combined with sedation, allowing you to relax or sleep lightly during the procedure.
The required tests and findings depend on your health condition and the planned surgery. During your consultation, the anesthesiologist will assess your personal anesthesia risk and arrange any necessary tests or additional documentation.
To prevent bacteria or harmful microorganisms from entering the wound, the surgical site is disinfected and covered with sterile drapes. This typically prevents you from watching the procedure. However, for some surgeries, such as arthroscopies (joint surgeries), you may have the option to observe the procedure on a screen.
It’s natural to feel anxious about anesthesia. However, modern medications, advanced monitoring, and the expertise of your anesthesiology team ensure that the risk of complications is extremely low. If you remain concerned, your anesthesiologist can discuss the process with you in detail and may prescribe a sedative to help you relax before the operation.
General anesthesia suppresses protective reflexes, such as swallowing and coughing, which can increase the risk of stomach contents entering the airway and causing a severe lung infection. The less food or liquid in your stomach, the lower this risk. For your safety, you must avoid eating solid foods for at least six hours and drinking liquids for at least two hours before anesthesia.
Your anesthesiologist will carefully monitor your vital signs and the depth of anesthesia throughout the procedure. Modern medications allow precise and quick adjustments, so you do not need to worry about waking up during surgery.
Pain after an operation cannot be completely avoided, but today it can be limited to a tolerable level. The need for painkillers primarily depends on the type of surgery performed. To make the post-operative period as comfortable as possible, the dosage of painkillers is adjusted to the expected need during the procedure. After the surgery, the treatment can be adapted to your individual requirements at any time.
For major procedures, it may be beneficial to combine general anesthesia with regional anesthesia, which allows for effective pain management. Your anesthetist will be happy to provide you with more detailed information about this.
Anaesthesia today is safer than ever before. This pleasing fact is mainly due to the development of new drugs and better monitoring options for the function of vital organs. Nevertheless, life-threatening complications can still occur in rare cases. The risk of this is primarily determined by the patient's concomitant diseases and the operation performed, rather than by the anaesthesia itself. For physically fit patients undergoing a limited procedure, the risk is extremely low.
Nausea and vomiting were once almost inevitable side effects of any anesthesia. Modern medications, however, trigger these unpleasant side effects much less frequently, and some are even suitable for treating them.
Unfortunately, we still cannot guarantee a completely nausea-free recovery phase. The likelihood and severity depend on individual predisposition and the type of surgery performed.
If you have a known tendency toward nausea, we can take special measures to address it.
Early intake of fluids and solid food after anaesthesia often leads to nausea and vomiting. In your own interest, you should therefore wait at least two hours before drinking and at least four to six hours before eating solid food. After operations on the abdominal organs, especially the intestines, these time intervals can sometimes be several times longer.
Modern medications allow for precise control of the duration of anesthesia. Just a few minutes after the surgery ends, you will be "awake" from the anesthetist’s perspective—meaning you can breathe on your own again, your protective reflexes have returned, and you can communicate with us. However, it will take at least an hour, and often several hours, before you are fully alert to your surroundings and interested in activities like reading, watching TV, or similar tasks. This time frame also depends on the type and dosage of painkillers you need after the surgery.
Regional anaesthesia takes effect within a few minutes. However, it can sometimes take longer for the anaesthetic to take full effect.
Yes, regional anesthesia is usually sufficient for the duration of the surgery. If a longer operation is anticipated, a catheter can be placed, allowing additional doses to be administered as needed.
No, you will not have to endure pain. If the anesthesia starts to wear off, additional pain relief can be administered through the infusion. Transitioning to general anesthesia is also possible at any time.
If you wish, you can experience the operation pain-free and awake. However, many patients prefer to sleep, in which case we can give you a sleeping pill in the infusion. To help you relax, you can enjoy your favourite music through headphones.
All materials and medications used for regional anaesthesia have been specially developed to eliminate the risk of nerve damage as far as possible. Permanent damage is therefore extremely rare today.
Of course, it is also possible to visit an intensive care unit. However, visiting times are less flexible than on a normal unit. If you would like to visit someone in an intensive care unit, we would ask you to enquire about and observe the respective visiting regulations of the unit.
As a rule, accompanying your child into the operating room itself is not possible. However, you can accompany your child to the preparation area, which is both possible and encouraged. There, your child will usually receive a sedative, so they typically will not remember anything beyond that point.
By Public Transport
From the U6 Michelbeuern-AKH subway station, a pedestrian bridge leads to the main entrance. Tram lines 5 and 33 (Lazarettgasse station) stop in front of the Spitalgasse 23 entrance.
By Car
Parking is available for visitors in an underground garage. Entry is via Währinger Gürtel. Elevators and staircases provide access to the main entrance hall. A porter service is available in the entrance hall to provide information. From the main entrance at Währinger Gürtel/U6, proceed through the hall to the moving walkways or elevators in the green ward building (marked in green).