Diplomate, American Board of Anesthesiology
"To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts." - Henry David Thoreau
Dr Wes J Irwin
Your Anesthesiologist
I recognize the importance of a patient-centered medical experience, which inspires me to create strong and long-lasting bonds with each of my patients. It’s a privilege to serve the surrounding Lake Tahoe communities by providing quality medical care through sound medical advice and responsible diagnoses and procedures.
I am proud to be recognized as one of the anesthesia providers of choice for the Lake Tahoe area. I serve multiple hospital/clinical sites in the Lake Tahoe and surrounding areas and provide anesthesia services to approximately 1,000 patients each year.
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My practice continues to uphold a tradition of excellence established when I started in South Lake Tahoe over 15 years ago. I have interests in Outpatient, Pediatric, Trauma, da Vinci Surgical System®, and Ultrasound Guided Regional Anesthesia techniques.
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I am committed to providing my patients with a safe and successful anesthesia experience delivered with a personal, caring touch. My practice is dedicated to working with the facilities I serve to help the operating rooms run smoothly and to provide superior clinical outcomes for our shared patients.
I appreciate the opportunity to serve the patients, medical professionals and clinical facilities of the Lake Tahoe and surrounding areas.
10 Things to Know About Me
From the California Society of Anesthesiologists and Linda Hertzberg, MD:
1. I am your personal physician and your advocate in the operating room.
2. As an anesthesiologist, I am the physician responsible for overseeing your care—preparing you medically for surgery, and looking after you during surgery and in the post-operative period. I work closely with your primary physicians, specialists, surgeons, hospitalists and nurses.
3. You should know who is providing your anesthesia care in the operating room. Anesthesiologists are physicians with medical training in the specialty of anesthesiology. As such, we are uniquely placed to assess your medical needs as those relate to the care we provide for you in the operating room.
4. I will work with you to design a plan for your anesthesia care that is tailored to you, your personal health situation, your procedure, and your choice. This may include general anesthesia, regional (spinal or epidural) anesthesia, or nerve blocks.
5. There are risks to anesthesia; they may be specific to the type of surgery you’re having, or specific to any underlying health problems you may have. It is my job to do everything professionally possible to minimize those risks to you.
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6. I am there to keep you safe while you are having anesthesia during your procedure. Anesthesia has a wonderful safety record, and this is because of advances in the field—safer medications, better monitoring—that originated from research by anesthesiologists.
7. I will be there with you the entire time, watching every beat of your heart and every breath you take.
8. Anesthesiologists are pain management specialists. There are a variety of modalities to manage pain after surgery including epidurals, nerve blocks, intravenous or oral pain medication. The most appropriate method of pain management will be discussed with you and tailored to your needs, based on the type of procedure you are undergoing.
9. Postoperative nausea and vomiting are sometimes a side effect of anesthesia. There are ways to minimize the possibility of nausea and vomiting with medications that I will be giving you preemptively as part of your anesthetic care. Should nausea and vomiting occur postoperatively, it will be treated promptly.
10. There is a way for you to contact me should any questions or concerns arise about your anesthesia care.
Who are Anesthesiologists?
Anesthesiologists are physicians who provide medical care to patients undergoing surgical procedures. Anesthesiologists are responsible for ensuring the delivery of anesthesia safely to patients in virtually all health care settings, including all major medical and tertiary care facilities. This includes a preoperative evaluation, consultation with the surgical team, creating a plan for the anesthesia tailored to each individual patient, airway management, intra-operative life support, provision of peri-operative pain control, intra-operative diagnostic stabilization, and proper post-operative management of patients. Preparation of patients for emergency surgery are mandatory, essential, and critical skills that anesthesiologists have been trained to employ. Because anesthesiologists are physicians, in contrast to other anesthesia providers, they are able to utilize their extensive knowledge of human physiology and diseases to guide their decision making.
