General anesthesia surgery can be performed on asthma patients in the stable phase of the disease. If the patient is in an acute attack, it is not recommended.
Usually before general anesthesia surgery, anesthesiologists will go to the ward to assess the patient’s condition, mainly to assess whether the patient’s cardiopulmonary function can tolerate general anesthesia surgery.
In general anesthesia surgery, the patient’s breathing is controlled by a ventilator, if the patient’s lung function is seriously impaired, it is not able to tolerate the whole procedure.
If the patient’s asthma is usually well controlled, the frequency of attacks is relatively low, do not need to use drugs or only occasionally use low-dose nebulizer inhaler, generally can tolerate surgery.
If the patient usually has frequent asthma attacks, or during an acute asthma attack, requiring nebulized inhalation along with medication, general anesthesia is usually not recommended.
Whether or not a patient with asthma can undergo general anesthesia surgery is most often decided after a comprehensive discussion between the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and respiratory physician.