The term “bloodless medicine” refers to different kinds of techniques that allow patients to be treated without undergoing blood transfusion. It means that patients don’t receive any forms of blood products that have been provided or stored by donors. People can request bloodless medicine methods if they are scheduled to undergo surgical procedures.
Not only that, some of these methods can be applied to patients suffering from traumatic injuries. Bloodless methods can be performed before, during, or after your operation, and can include combinations of medication, diet, surgical techniques, or other strategies. Usually, the goals of this method include:
- Boosting RBC count before the operation
- Optimize and monitor oxygen delivery during the operation
- Avoid any blood loss during surgeries
- Collect, as well as reuse your blood during operations
Check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodless_surgery to know more about this topic.
Bloodless medicine and surgery are growing
The practice of this procedure is starting to grow dramatically. In the early 90s, patients have the option to choose from a small number of clinics or medical establishment that provides bloodless operation or health care. After six years, patients can already choose from around 76 medical facilities all over the country.
Today, at least 100 medical centers in the country provide bloodless care, and more centers are starting to explore modern technology and practices that can make the same option for patients that are interested in undergoing the said procedure. All in all, health care professionals are starting to make a conscious effort to avoid the use of blood products as much as possible, even in facilities that do not usually focus on these types of procedures.
Why patients choose these types of procedures
Usually, doctors or surgeons have used transfusions (blood donated or stored from a blood bank, often from other people) for different types of medical situations. For example, a patient would have received transfusions if they lost a lot of blood during a surgical procedure, serious injuries or childbirth.
The reason behind this has always been to help maintain a certain level of hemoglobin in the patient’s blood. Hemoglobin is an element of RBC and is responsible for carrying oxygen all over the body. A low level of hemoglobin means that there is less oxygen being delivered to your organs and tissues.
It has been thought to increase the risk of infection, cause organ and tissue damage, as well as slow down your body’s ability to recover or heal. Proponents of bloodless surgery or medicine are re-examining threshold levels of hemoglobin required for healing and good health.
Experts believe that patients can do well at a much lower hemoglobin level compared to previously believed safe. Some proponents believe that the risk of transfusions can sometimes outweigh the risk of having low hemoglobin.
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Operations that use bloodless methods
There are a lot of conditions that can be treated through bloodless operations. For example, there are ways to perform the following kinds of operation without transfusing blood:
- Vascular operation
- Open heart surgery for children and adults
- Total knee and hip replacement or arthroplasty
- Hysterectomy
- Prostatectomy or prostate removal and other kinds of urinary tract surgery
- Aneurysm repairs and other forms of brain surgery
- Liver and other types of organ transplant
- Cancer treatment operations
- Operations to repair traumatic injuries like lacerated spleen
- Pediatric and neonatal surgeries
- Urological and gynecological surgeries
Try the least-invasive procedures
For Long Island bloodless brain surgery to be possible, the least invasive kind to treat brain problems can be the most appropriate. For example, Aneurysm procedure is more likely to be a lot more successful bloodless procedure compared to traditional open craniotomy surgery.
Using a small video camera that is passed into the patient’s head, through a small incision, surgeons can remove the aneurysm from the brain without fully opening the patient’s skull. The operator can look through the scope directly, or they can broadcast the image to the monitor.
Small incisions will allow surgical instruments, as well as retractors, to be passed into the head to perform the actual surgery. The small incision is likely to bleed less compared to the traditional head incision. But the method is not always appropriate and needs to be discussed with the surgeon in advance.
If the patient is interested in pursuing a bloodless approach to treat their brain-related condition, make sure to extensively speak with a specialist and other health care professionals about procedures available in treating brain conditions.
