Friday, October 31, 2014

KEEP CALM and DO A REGIONAL ANESTHETIC

I was reminiscing about sitting for the oral boards in anesthesiology (I know: good times...) and how very engaged my junior examiner became when I decided to choose a superficial cervical plexus block for a carotid endarterectomy surgery.  Of course what happens in oral boards land is that-- if your are lucky-- you are told the patient 'refuses' a block.  Else all blocks always fail.  When they do, they fail inconveniently in the midst of the surgery and perhaps without consideration to pharmacology, physiology, or logic.   So that was the scenario I dealt myself that day long ago but I was successful in keeping my fictional patient alive until the knock came to my door.  

Today in the real world, I still believe regional anesthesia is the best way for an anesthesiologist with decent judgment and good skills to avoid trouble and keep his or her patient safe in almost every situation.  So therefore, this post of a regional anesthesia inspired version of the "Keep Calm and Carry On" motivational poster printed by the British government during WWII.  These were only recently made popular, and commercialized by KeepCalmAndCarryOn.com.  A brief internet search of the phrase produced the closest match from the National Health Services website which does an admirable job of using the word "calm" several times in connection with regional anesthesia.  Keep calm and do a regional anesthetic.
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