The campaign is in response to high rates of obesity, diabetes
MARQUETTE -- Anesthesiologists deal with some of the most powerful drugs in health care, and record high rates of diabetes and obesity in Michigan don't make their job any easier.
"Unfortunately these medical conditions can adversely affect our anesthetic and can complicate surgery," says Dr. Greg Ghiardi.
Michigan's obesity rate is 31 percent, about 3 percent above the national average.
About nine percent of Michigan adults have diabetes. In addition, smoking, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and heart disease all put patients at an increased risk in the operating room.
"People can have problems, including heart attacks during surgery, they can have tremendous bleeding problems, they can have problems oxygenating, getting enough air into the tissues during surgery," says Marquette General Hospital surgeon Dr. Doug Baldwin.
Which is why being open with your anesthesiologist about your health problems pre-surgery can be a matter of life and death. It's the anesthesiologist's role to prescribe an anesthetic tailored specifically to an individual, determine if any special monitoring is needed, and anticipate any problems that may arise during surgery.
"It is very important to be honest and allow us to do our best and make the surgical experience as pleasant, pain-free, and risk-free as possible," Dr. Ghiardi says.
For more on this campaign, click here.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWLUC