Lidocaine

Lidocaine Today I am going to talk to you about surgery and what type of drug that will be used to help during a surgical procedure. There are many different drugs that will be used in a surgical procedure but the one that I will give information on today is called Lidocaine. Lidocaine can be used in several different ways. The routes of administration include; “direct IV (Skidmore pp.624)” (into the vein with injection), “continuous IV (Skidmore pp.624)” (a constant flow of medication into the vein), “IM (Skidmore pp.624)” (into the muscle also an injection), and subcutaneous (under the first layer of epidermis-also known as the skin). There are several reasons why Lidocaine is used during surgery, but the main reason is to help with the pain after the surgery is over when you (the patient) are recovering. Another reason why Lidocaine is used is because of the effect that it has on the vessels. Lidocaine is a vasoconstrictor and has a coagulating effect on the vessels and how much bleeding will occur. Most of the time during surgery the surgeon will inject before and after surgery to help with residual bleeding in the operative site (less bleeding after surgery from wound). Sometimes Lidocaine can be used in the IV. This has its disadvantages because Lidocaine disrupts blood gases which carry anesthesia drugs to the receptors in the brain so that a patient does not feel pain or wake up. In conclusion Lidocaine is has its pros and cons, but definitely is needed in surgery for comfort and an extra precaution for bleeding. Hope this was informative, and this was all common knowledge through my surgical experience as a Surgical Technologist.

Works Cited
Skidmore. (2013). Mosby 's Drug Guide for Nursing Students. St. Louis: Elsevier

Cited: Skidmore. (2013). Mosby 's Drug Guide for Nursing Students. St. Louis: Elsevier Mosby.