Opioid free Goldilocks anesthesia avoids most need for postop opioids
What better time than the current morphine and Dilaudid® shortages during the national opioid crisis to extol the virtues of opioid free, Goldilocks anesthesia for surgery? Goldilocks anesthesia is BIS brain monitored propofol ketamine intravenous sedation for any surgery that involves going through the skin.
“Preemptive ketamine gives dramatically better patient outcomes with virtually no need for postop opioids,” says Dr. Barry Friedberg, board-certified anesthesiologist.
The interval between the skin incision & the need for analgesia allows healing to take place. Hence, when postop analgesia is needed, much less, if any opioids are needed.
“Avoiding the need for opioids after surgery is the key to avoiding postop opioid addiction,” says Friedberg.
Over 25 years providing preemptive ketamine with opioid free, Goldilocks anesthesia resulted in not a single hospital admission for pain as well as no ketamine hallucinations. Avoiding opioids during surgery resulted in the lowest published postoperative nausea & vomiting rate (0.6%) in high risk patients without using anti-emetics like Zofran or Emend!
“One reproducibly avoids ketamine hallucinations with numbers showing the patient’s propofol level the BIS brain monitor generates from the patient’s forehead sensor,” concludes Friedberg.
Patients can advocate for opioid free, Goldilocks anesthesia with the patient information book, ‘Getting Over Going Under’ as a free, no obligation download from the nonprofit Goldilocks Foundation.
Disclaimer: Neither Dr. Friedberg, nor his nonprofit Goldilocks Foundation, receive BIS brain maker financial support.
Dr. Barry Friedberg is a US Congressional Award recipient, board-certified anesthesiologist, president and founder of the nonprofit Goldilocks Foundation dedicated to making brain monitoring a standard of care for major surgery under anesthesia. He has been interviewed extensively on the subject of anesthesia and propofol by FOX, CNN, True TV, and People Magazine during the Michael Jackson murder trial.