Your anesthesiologist manages your pain before, during and after surgery, but did you know that often times, he or she will also choose the music that plays while you’re in the operating room (OR)?
Playing music in the OR is not a new trend according to Dr. Thomas J. Quinn, an anesthesiologist at HSS. “When I started here in 1987, I remember preparing my anesthesia cart the night before and the circulating nurse asked me where my radio was,” recalled Dr. Quinn. “All of the other anesthesiologists had radios, so I had to go out and get one the night before.”
At HSS, music is often used to relieve patients’ pre-surgery jitters. The anesthesiologists are often the OR DJs, spinning customized Spotify playlists or channels requested by patients.
“The idea of music is to keep patients comfortable,” said Dr. Quinn. “We want to connect with the patient as he or she comes into the OR.”
“It’s really quite amazing how patients, even if they are under some sedation, listen to their favorite music and forget that they wanted to be asleep,” said Dr. Quinn. “The demands to not see, smell, or hear the operating room fall by the wayside once patients hear their favorite music.”
Are there any staples in the HSS anesthesiologists? playlists? Not really, according to Dr. Quinn, but Motown and reggae have been requested more often than others.
Check out the Anesthesiology Pre-Surgery Playlist provided by Dr. Quinn.
Dr. Thomas J. Quinn is a board-certified anesthesiologist, practicing since 1987. His current interests include the latest developments in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Dr. Quinn is the Director of Resuscitation for Hospital for Special Surgery.
