Since opening in 1963, the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine has been developing throughout the 60-year history of the Korea Cancer Center Hospital. The Department of Anesthesiology was established with Dr. Ho Jo Jang, who had dedicated half his life to the establishment and development of anesthesiology and main medicine, appointed as the director.
The field of anesthesiology has been developing and expanding steadily. Currently, it encompasses a wide range of fields from assessment of and consultation for patients receiving anesthesia to pain alleviation or prevention during or after surgery or examination, monitoring for and stabilization of vital signs during surgery, management of patients requiring intensive care, diagnosis and treatment of acute, chronic, and cancer-related pain, and clinical and basic studies.
According to the opinion that the name “Department of Anesthesiology” does not successfully reflect the scope of the departmental operation extending to outside the operating room, the name of the department was changed to the “Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine” following the amendment of the Medical Service Act in 2002.
The Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine handles anesthesia of patients undergoing surgery, post-operative pain control, treatment of chronic pain, and management of patients requiring intensive care. It also performs pre-operative patient assessment and patient care during or after surgery. In addition, the department accurately assesses patient conditions and administers the most appropriate anesthesia to ensure safe surgery.
It strives to maintain the patient’s life safely during surgery by dividing the fields of anesthesia into obstetric anesthesia, cardiothoracic anesthesia, cranial nerve anesthesia, pediatric anesthesia, geriatric anesthesia, and anesthesia for organ transplant.
The medical staff including the director and most nurses for the recovery room are experts with over ten years' experiences. They make the best effort to ensure patients’ stability and comfort in the operating room and recovery room.
With the medical staff dedicating genuine effort to sharing the joys and sorrows with patients and their guardians, the department is striving to improve patient satisfaction further by opening the Pain Clinic in 2011.