- What to Expect from Surgical Anesthesia
You will meet your anesthesiologist before surgery. At that time, he or she will review your medical history and evaluate the needs of your specific procedure to determine what type of anesthesia is best for your procedure. At this time, your anesthesiologist will also make sure you are ready for the operation.
As you prepare for your surgery, it is essential that you let your anesthesiologist and surgeon’s office know about the following:
- Prior complications stemming from anesthesia
- Any cold- of flu-like symptoms
- Current prescription to treat ongoing pain
- Allergies to anesthesia medications or latex
- History of blood clots
Once your anesthesiologist and surgeon have cleared you for surgery, you will be transported to the operating room. In some cases, you will receive anesthetic medications (such as intravenous sedation) before being transported into the room.
During and after surgery
During Surgery
Your anesthesiologist or a member of the anesthesia care team — a resident, a fellow, or nurse anesthetist — will remain with you throughout the entire surgery. This anesthesia provider will monitor your heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and level of awareness during surgery and make adjustments to your anesthetic mediations as necessary.
Depending on the procedure, some patients may have the option to choose the level of sedation they prefer – this is a decision made by the anesthesiologist and surgeon. There are several levels of available for some procedures, but there is almost always an option to be fully sedated. These options will be reviewed with you before the surgery beings during the pre-surgical consultation.
After Surgery
As soon as you wake from your anesthesia, an operating room team member will alert your family and/or care providers in the waiting room. One family member, and in the case of pediatric patients, both parents and/or guardians, will be able to visit with you in the recovery room at this time.
If you are scheduled for an outpatient surgery, you will be discharged to home once the anesthesia has worn off and you have been cleared by your anesthesiologist. If you are scheduled for an inpatient surgery, you will be discharged to an inpatient hospital room. If there are concerns about your body’s response to either the surgery or anesthesia, you will remain in the recovery room where an anesthesiologist will manage your care until you are ready to move to a regular hospital room. In some cases, mostly spine surgeries, you may be placed under the supervision of a physician.
Postoperative Pain
The goal of postoperative pain management is help manage pain caused by surgery so that it does not distract you from your daily activities and enables you to function and participate with physical therapy. It is to be expected that orthopedic surgery will result in some postoperative pain. To eliminate pain entirely after surgery would require complete anesthesia and would slow down your long-term recovery.
Your pain is managed in various ways immediately after surgery. A physician may check in with you during the initial phase of your recovery in the recovery room and hospital room. These providers help manage your pain management medications according to your specific levels of pain.
As the pain lessens in the days following surgery, you will be switched to oral medications. Depending on the procedure, your surgeon may prescribe for medication for pain control to be taken after you leave the hospital. If you have any concerns about your recovery, please contact your surgeon’s office.
Treatments & Services
Specialists Pain Clinic
Mattanje Vreden - Anesthesiologist
Mattanje Vreden is a general anesthesiologist who received her training in the AMC in Amsterdam. In her last year she focused on pediatric anesthesia. Just like all her colleagues, she serves the full range of patients who are presented to the operating theatre at CMC. Next to providing general anesthesia she is trained to provide “loco regional” techniques to provide anesthesia to certain parts of the body. She has a keen interest in patient safety and outcome improving programs. That is why she is in the JCI accreditation project at CMC. She also develops educational programs in the interest of simulating education. She always engages in a holistic view to ensure the wellbeing of colleagues and patients.
Monique Calmes - Anesthetist
Monique Calmes Studied Medicine at the University of Leiden, Netherlands, and specialized in anesthesiology at the University Medical Center Utrecht, with a focus on pain medicine. Before her specialization she completed two years respectively as physician at the Emergency Department at ‘t Lange Land Hospital in Zoetermeer (NL) and in the surgical intensive care of Vrije Universiteit Medical Center. Calmes is certified in Hyperbaric Medicine (for diving emergencies) and the Chair for the resuscitation committee. She worked as an anesthesiologist at SEHOS from 2007 until 2019, followed by Curaçao Medical Center.
Calmes has a passion for education and is an instructor in ACLS, PALS, ACLS-experienced provider and ATLS. She is also a course director for ATLS. She has been the course director for Caribbean Emergency Airway Course and a faculty member of the Caribbean Emergency Care Course. Currently she is co-director for the Basic Critical Care Course.
Currently Calmes also has the role of a Board member of the LVMPILC (the national Association for medical specialists employed at CMC).
Dr. Valentina Franco Uribe – Anesthesiologist
Valentina Franco Uribe, M.D., is a medical surgeon specializing in anesthesiology. She works in the perioperative care, intraoperative management and postoperative pain control in surgical patients. She has extensive training in POCUS (point of care ultrasound), regional anesthesia, patient blood management and neuro monitoring specially for neurosurgery. She has done research in low-income environments trying to improve results and lower morbidity in patients. Her areas of interest are geriatric anesthesia, regional anesthesia, transfusion management, perioperative medicine and palliative care. She has published in medical journals, has been an instructor in simulations and has presented at different symposiums. She is a member of several professional societies. She speak fluent in English, Spanish and I has an intermediate level of Papiamento.
Juan Camilo Lopez de Mesa Betancur - Anesthetist
Dr. Juan Camilo Lopes de Mesa Betancour is an anesthesiologist and intensivist with training in neurointensive care. He has been working in Curacao for 10 years and focuses constantly on the priority of safe and responsible care of the critically ill patients and the patients in the operating room
John Theunissen -Anesthetist
Dr. John P G Theunissen is an all-round anesthesiologist with a lot of experience in critical patients,trauma, thoracic surgery, neurosurgery, pedriatics,urology , obstretics and general surgery and orthopedics, ophtalmology and ent surgery. He obtained his medical degree from University of Groningen (the Netherlands) in 1983 and after which he worked at the emergency department at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Curaçao for 2 ½ . After this, he pursued his study in anesthesiology in Gent University (Belgium), which he Ffnished in 1992. At the University of Gent hospital, he worked as staff member with supra-specialization in intensive care. In 1993, he returned to SEHOS, followed by Curacao Medical Center. He is fluent in Dutch, English and Papiamentu.
I have enough experience in the different kinds of anesthesia (regional,neuraxial, TIVA and general). Have been head of the dept anesthesia since 1998 in sehos and head of the icu dept in sehos from 1993 till 2015 and from, 2015 till 2019 head of operating theater in sehos.
Currently in CMC Service, line chief of anesthesiology, operating theater and intensive care dept since 2020.
Gustavo Jaramillo Sanchez - Anesthetist
Dr, Jaramillo is responsible for patients’ safety—before, during, and after operations. The life of a patient is so vulnerable when he or she is on an operating table. Throughout the entire surgery, he keeps watching over the patient, not just alleviating the pain, but also regulating vital signs and handling any unexpected condition. Dr. Jaramillo does the best to protect the life of every patient.
The professional expertise of anesthesiologists’, strong sense of responsibility and tough mentality bring patients security and hope. ”We use our eyes, ears, brain, and heart to feel the patient’s breathing, heartbeat, pulse, and blood flow. In other words : we are the Guardian Angels of all patients who need to go to the operating room.” Anesthesiologists take care of patients ranging in ages from newborns to 100-year-olds. We anesthetize patients for all surgeries (brain surgery, abdominal or chest surgeries, bone and joint surgeries, plastic surgery, eye surgery, urological surgery, trauma surgery).
Every mother for Cesarean section has an anesthetist, as do mothers for many vaginal deliveries for childbirth. 18 years ago with my other colleagues anesthesiologist, we decided start the service of Management of Chronic Pain. Now, we are 4 anesthesiologist trying to help many patient in Curaçao and other islands to control their pain and / or to be able to live with it as well as possible. He is an Active Member of American Society of Anesthesia, Active Member of American Society of Regional Anesthesia, Member Affiliated European Society of Anesthesia and European Society of Regional Anesthesia.
Drs. Loaiza Atehortua, L.F. (Luis)
Anesthetist
As all around anesthesiologist I have experience in the management of anesthesia of different specialties ( trauma/Orthopedic, thoracic, general surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics, neurosurgery, OR, Ophthalmology and urology). I have enough experience in the different techniques of anesthesia ( Regional, neuroaxial, total intravenous anesthesia and general anesthesia).
At sehos I also worked at the ICU department for almost 20 years in the critical management of the ICU patients supporting the mechanical ventilations and invasion of the patients. Also I have a lot experience in the chronic clinical management and interventional pain treatments of chronic pain patients. Actually I am the chief of pain department at CMC and I’m part of the blood transfusion commission at CMC.