Anesthesiologist in Riga

The anesthesiologist consultation should take place sufficiently close to the planned surgery date for the doctor to make an objective assessment of your current health. At the same time, the consultation should not be left until the last moment or scheduled only the day before surgery, as additional tests or consultations with other specialists may be necessary in some cases.

In practice, the best time for an anesthesiologist consultation is about one week before the planned operation. This leaves enough time for any necessary additional tests and, if needed, a repeat consultation with the anesthesiologist or another specialist. A consultation arranged too far in advance — for example, one and a half to two months before surgery — is usually not optimal either, as the patient’s health may change during that time.

Even relatively minor surgical procedures are often performed using anaesthesia or sedation — let alone major operations, where anaesthesia is an integral part of treatment. Both surgery and anaesthesia involve certain risks, so before the procedure it is necessary to carefully assess the patient’s health, any coexisting conditions, medicines being taken and possible risk factors, and to choose the safest anaesthetic approach in advance. This is precisely why an anesthesiologist consultation before surgery is an essential part of patient safety.

Before childbirth, an anesthesiologist consultation is particularly important both for women planning a vaginal birth who wish to discuss pain-relief options and for patients scheduled for a planned caesarean section. During the consultation, the anesthesiologist thoroughly evaluates the expectant mother’s health, required investigations and possible anaesthetic risks, explains the available pain-relief or anaesthetic options and helps prepare in advance for different childbirth scenarios. This prior assessment helps reduce potential risks and provide the greatest possible safety for both mother and baby.

During the consultation, the anesthesiologist thoroughly assesses the patient’s health, coexisting conditions, previous operations and anaesthetic history, medicines being taken, allergies, and the results of any necessary tests. The doctor evaluates possible anaesthetic risks and, taking into account the planned surgery or the course of childbirth, selects the most appropriate and safest anaesthetic or pain-relief method.

The patient also receives specific instructions on how to prepare for the procedure — including food and fluid intake, whether daily medicines should be continued or temporarily stopped, and information about the anaesthesia itself, waking up and the period after the procedure. It is also an opportunity to ask questions in advance and discuss the most suitable individual anaesthetic plan with the anesthesiologist.

Yes, it is advisable to bring all available results from previous tests and examinations, hospital discharge summaries and other documents related to your health to the consultation. They help the anesthesiologist make a more comprehensive assessment of the patient’s health and potential anaesthetic risks.

To avoid forgetting anything important during the consultation, it is advisable to make a short list in advance of past illnesses, injuries and operations, previous experiences with anaesthesia, allergies, regularly taken medicines and other significant health-related circumstances. This helps make the consultation more precise and enables the doctor to plan anaesthesia or pain relief more safely.

An anesthesiologist consultation during pregnancy helps assess the expectant mother’s health in good time and discuss pain-relief and anaesthetic options for childbirth. In Latvia, epidural pain relief in childbirth is state-funded and is also available at the woman’s own request, so a consultation with an anesthesiologist lets her understand before delivery how this method works, how to prepare for it and what to expect during and after the procedure.

Even an uncomplicated vaginal birth may unexpectedly lead to an emergency caesarean section. For a planned caesarean section, spinal, epidural or general anaesthesia may be needed depending on the circumstances. For this reason, an anesthesiologist consultation before childbirth is strongly recommended to assess the woman’s general health and anaesthetic risks in good time.

Yes. FORTEMED’s anesthesiologist consultation schedule is designed flexibly, so that consultations are also convenient for patients who are busy on working days. During the working week, appointments often take place in the evening, and consultations are also available on selected weekends.

Current appointment times and available visits can be viewed in the FORTEMED online booking portal.