Dr. Farris agreed with the position of Emery N. Brown, MD, professor of anesthesiology at Harvard Medical School, that describing anesthesia as “putting someone to sleep” does a disservice to both patients and anesthesiologists. However, Dr. Farris said when he has described anesthesia as a “coma” to his patients, responses have “bordered on fear, sometimes with expressions suggesting they’d like another doctor.” He said reception is somewhat better with school-age children.
Read the New York Times letter from Dr. Farris.
Read more on anesthesia:
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–Anesthesiologist on the Move: Dr. Carlos Nunez Joins CareFusion as CMO