Donat R. Spahn MD, F.R.C.A.
Professor and Chair

The aim of anaesthesia is to block pain and suppress consciousness during a surgical intervention; previously, it was called narcosis. Analgesia means the elimination of pain and it is the most important element of anaesthesia. Analgesia is used not only during a surgical intervention, but also for the treatment of acute or chronic pain due to various causes.

The Institute of Anaesthesiology, now with more than two hundred physicians and nurses, was founded in 1953. The services include various forms of anaesthesia with preoperative and postoperative care, intensive treatment of severely ill patients, reanimation and emergency treatment, and the treatment of acute and chronic pain. Profound clinical and experimental research and well-established training, and continuing and further training programs serve for the ongoing improvement of the quality of our services. Due to additional education, both the physicians and the nurses of the Institute of Anaesthesiology have the knowledge and experience in special techniques in order to ensure patient safety. The institute performs about 22,000 anaesthesia procedures in 37 operation rooms each year.

Areas of Specialization:

• Anaesthesia: preoperative risk assessment with maximal heart protection and minimal blood substitution
• Pain treatment centre for outpatients and inpatients
• Management of the rescue services in the Zurich region
• Further training programs renowned throughout Europe for anaesthesiologists as well as anaesthesia nurses
• Research in perioperative organ protection, coagulation optimisation, cardiovascular physiology and monitoring