Anesthesia

The primary activity within the Division centers around the care of patients who require general, regional and/or monitored anesthesia care for surgical, diagnostic, or therapeutic procedures at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Our division provides anesthesia serice for about 8-9,000 patients per year, who are undergoing general surgery, neurosurgery, thoracic surgery, gynecologic surgery, urologic surger, head and neck surgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery, orthopedic surgery, radiation therapy, and diagnostic imaging procedures. The Division also provides services for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in pediatric patients. Currently, M.D. Anderson has 22 operating rooms. Next year, M.D. Anderson will open the Alkek Clinic, which is a state-of-the-art hospital containing 26 operating rooms and support services.

Pre-operative / Consultation Center

The Division runs the Preoperative / Consulation Center (PCC) at which a patient will be evaluated by a faculty anesthesiologist prior to any procedure that would require the administration of anesthesia. During the visit to the PCC, the patient's past medical and surgical history will be discussed with respect to the proposed procedure(s), and appropriate laboratory testing, consultations with other physicians (if needed), and preoperative teaching will take place.

Acute Pain Services

Faculty members provide an acute pain service for post surgical patients who are receiving epidural or other forms of postoperative analgesia. The service is provided 24 hours a day seven days a week.

Chronic Pain Services

Faculty members work in conjunction with faculty in the Departments of Neuro Surgery and Neuro Oncology to provide a comprehensive program of pain and symptom management for patients with cancer pain. Faculty participate in both an inpatient service seeing hospitalized patients with difficult pain problems as well as an outpatient pain and symptom management clinic. Faculty see patients and provide both medical therapy as well as diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for the management of cancer pain.

Critical Care Medicine

Faculty care for patients in the 22 bed Surgical Intensive Care Unit and the 16 bed Medical Intensive Care Unit. Patients in these units often require hemodynamic monitoring and life support following surgical procedures and as the result of complications of the medical management of patients with solid tissue and hematological malignancies. Within the next year a new 42 bed critical care facility will open which will house critical care and intermediate intensive care unit patients.

Respiratory Care

Forty-eight respiratory therapists provide respiratory services for patients throughout the hospital and clinics. Therapists perform management of mechanical ventilators, aerosol therapy, chest physical therapy and patient education.

Research

The Division has research programs in basic mechanisms of pain and anesthesia, clinical anesthesia and critical care outcomes. There is one full-time basic scientist, one laboratory technician, two research nurses and a part time bio statistician.

Education

The Division has an office of education that coordinates resident rotations, fellowship training and in-service and continuing education programs. Weekly conferences include clinical conference, three times a week critical care conference, and frequent pain and symptom management conferences. The Division also sponsors two annual continuing education conferences, one is on airway management and one on pain management.