Perioperative ultrasound; fashion, luxury or necessity!

The technique of ultrasound is not new in medicine. Advancement of the technique, portability of the equipment and the desire of the anesthesiologist to reach to a quick diagnosis has made this an essential tool for today's anesthesiologist. There are many areas during the perioperative period where ultrasound can play an important role in guiding otherwise blind and invasive interventions, diagnosing critical conditions, and assessing for possible anatomic variations that may lead to plan modification. The irrefutable outcome of perioperative use of ultrasound performed by anesthesiologists is increasingly being acknowledged .It has been playing a role in central venous cannulation, epidural space identification, performing peripheral nerve and chronic pain nerve blocks. Transesophageal echocardiography, airway assessment, gastric ultrasound, lung ultrasound and neuro monitoring are some of the newly introduced uses of this modality. As the ultrasound guidance is becoming standard practice of care, anesthesiologists need to develop a thorough understanding of this technology and practical skills by training themselves.