Anaesthesia Review
Director: Łukasz Ostalski
Date Created: 2026-11-05 06:14
3.5
Anaesthesia Review: Directed by Łukasz Ostalski, Netflix’s Polish medical drama Znieczulenie stars Leszek Lichota as Dr Dawid Łazarz, alongside Karolina Gruszka, Aleksandra Popławska, Krzysztof Stelmaszyk, Marcin Czarnik, Vasyl Vasylyk, Karol Biskup, Joanna Gonschorek, Dorota Kolak, Masza Wągrocka and Filip Kowalewicz. The series has eight episodes, each running approximately 45 to 50 minutes.
Anaesthesia Review
Netflix Polish series Anaesthesia revolves around Dawid, a brilliant neurosurgeon who loses his job in Warsaw due to the death of his patient when he performs some experimental surgery. He moves to a cabin in Suwałki with no intention of returning and tries to escape the pressures of his professional world. But then he is hit by a train accident which takes him to a poorly equipped hospital where he is badly required. As Dawid starts working alongside the other doctors there, he realises that not only is he trying hard to save lives, but also facing the repercussions of his past actions.
In the Netflix series Anaesthesia, Dawid is a genius doctor, but he is also a person who made some bad choices, lost the ability to control his emotions, and hurt those who are closest to him. The Anaesthesia series poses an unpleasant dilemma: to what extent can a doctor gamble on saving a patient who has little chance of survival?
The choice made by Dawid to undertake the experimental surgery on Mikołaj forms the basis of the whole story. I understand his intention to offer the child hope when other physicians have failed; however, I equally understand why his choice can’t go unmentioned. The whole situation becomes more intriguing since the evidence doesn’t prove him either entirely guilty or entirely innocent. While his intentions seem noble, the manner in which he experimented remains questionable.
I also appreciated the fact that the Polish series Anaesthesia gives the opportunity to see both sides of this debate. The conviction of Dawid when he is being asked about what he did and his belief that doctors have to defend their patients is very believable. Nevertheless, at the same time, it is hard to forgive such mistakes by doctors due to the suffering that their families went through. It is the part that I like the most about this drama.
His interaction with the patients from Suwałki Hospital is the source of some of the most interesting aspects of the show. What I especially enjoyed was the story about Mateusz, the football player, who might lose his leg. Dawid does everything possible to keep the leg, which creates tension between him and Wanda, who thinks that amputation is the only safe choice for the patient. The problem here is not just two doctors having their own views on the matter.
It is quite a sweet feeling when Wanda reveals that she has the practice of planting a sapling whenever a patient loses a limb. In addition, it also adds significance to their initial clash between her and Dawid. She does not seem like a person who easily gives up on her patients. She is just a doctor who knows how to cope with hard situations in life.
Leszek is one more character whose plot brings additional complexity to the hospital environment. The fact that Leszek insists on continuing to perform surgeries even though his vision is deteriorating is very annoying, especially as he knows what will happen to him if he makes any mistake during the procedure. His ultimate spinal injury to a patient illustrates the dangers of not admitting one’s shortcomings when it comes to surgery. I appreciated the fact that his plot forms an interesting parallel with the plot of Dawid.
The only problem with Netflix’s Anaesthesia series is that there are many topics covered in this series that are relevant to issues such as ethics in medicine, hospital management, personal accountability, family dynamics, and the mental well-being of doctors and nurses. They are all very interesting on their own, but together they make the plot quite overburdened. It would have been nice to spend more time developing some relationships, especially those of Dawid.
Netflix Anaesthesia Review: Summing Up
Overall, the 2026 Anaesthesia series is a decent medical drama with a strong main character and several important plots. The most compelling parts of this series happen when it reveals the dilemma that faces the doctors and its results for the patient and his or her family. Nevertheless, the dense plot and the weak balance prevent the director from doing justice to his work. I found it interesting to follow Dawid’s fate regardless of the wrong things he does and to analyse the difficult position of a doctor.
