Joan Dispenza |
Joan Dispenza left her position as the Administrator for the Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) of Western New York in 2009 due to severe illness. As a registered nurse who worked at the physician-owned ASC, Dispenza has heard many patients complain about some of their surgeon’s instructions, including the usual directive to avoid eating after midnight on the day of the surgery. Here are three reasons to follow this directive:
Aspiration. This is the main reason for avoiding ingesting anything before surgery. Aspiration occurs when the anesthesia relaxes your muscles and your lungs to the point in which you have no control over them. Patients sometimes vomit the contents of their stomach and inhale them into their lungs, causing infection and the following two diseases. Aspiration Pneumonia. This disease puts your lungs at serious risk of further infection and can cause a wide range of symptoms, including death, if left untreated. Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. ARDS is rare, and can lead to pneumonia and further injury resulting in shortness of breath, low blood pressure, multiple organ failure, and labored breathing. This condition sometimes requires a stay in the Intensive Care Unit. Aspiration is one of the most common surgical complications that afflict patients in the United States. Joan Dispenza was the Administrator for the Ambulatory Surgery Center of Western New York in Amherst for ten years before she left the position because of severe illness. She started in the healthcare industry as a registered nurse, and worked her way up through the ranks to take over at the ASC when it opened in 1999. Comments are closed.
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