Anaesthesia and risk

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Anaesthetic techniques and equipment have greatly improved over the last 60 years, as has the training of anaesthetists to keep you safe.

If you are in good health modern anaesthetics are very safe. All procedures, though, have some risks. The resources in this section are designed to explain the main risks associated with anaesthesia and to support conversations with healthcare professionals about your care.

Patient with mask

Risks associated with general anaesthesia
Everyone is different; it is impossible to know who will have a side effect or risk. These numbers are averages from research studies. The people in the studies usually had routine surgery, were a healthy weight and did not have specific health conditions.
Regional anaesthesia (spinal)

Risks associated with regional anaesthesia
Browse our leaflets detailing specific risks associated with regional anaesthesia, including side effects or complications that could occur.
Child with doctor

Common events & risks for children & young people
This shows some of the common events and risks that healthy children and young people of normal weight face when having a general anaesthetic (GA) for routine surgery.