The turning point of anesthesia made surgeries safer and more effective for patients. Now, there are many different types of anesthesia, to help with different parts of the body. Local and regional anesthesia is given to patients to stop the sense of pain in a particular area temporarily. General anesthesia can cause a person to be unconscious and not have pain during a procedure such as surgery. We have been using different forms of anesthesia to do all kinds of surgeries from pulling a tooth to giving birth. When a mother has to have a c-section they will give her anesthesia so she can't feel the pain but they will keep her awake during the birth, so she is able to care for her newborn baby. The invention of anesthesia has changed the world forever because of the way it enlightened the beliefs of humans and the worth of our individual lives.

Hans Sviggum, Mayo Clinic Anesthesioligist

We interviewed an anesthesiologist, Hans Sviggum. As an anesthesiologist, it’s his job to make sure patients are safe and healthy while undergoing anesthesia. Most often when Hans meets people, they are very scared and sick. Sometimes patients get side effects like nausea or vomiting, but the doctors try to do their best to limit the amount of side effects. 

Hans and his coworkers say, “Being an anesthesiologist is 95% joy and 5% terror.” Hans told us that sometimes being an anesthesiologist is very frightening. They take many precautions and take their time during surgery. The doctors do lots of preparation so that the surgery goes as smoothly as possible.

​​​​​​​Anesthesioligy is a very intense job. Eventhough it saves human's lives by keeping their body calm during surgery, it can be very dangerous. If you administer too much or not enough anesthesia, you could wake up during surgery or not wake up at all. The turning point in medical history created more possible surgeris because of the invention of anesthesia.