Perioperative management of mentally handicapped

Overview

Modern medicine has improved beyond measure survival of physically or mentally handicapped children. Mental handicap often becomes obvious long after birth and severely retarded persons later end up in centres for special care. They usually do not look after their health and are usually nor reasonable when medical treatment is needed. In this they are similar to very young children who benefit from special paediatric hospital environment and medical staff trained especially to meet all their needs. No such provisions are generally available for mentally handicapped although their mental development has stopped at a very childish age and their retarded mind is housed in a grown-up body. Psychiatric patients are not mentally handicapped and will not be considered in this context.

Key words:
retarded person – special care – childish age – anaesthesia