Posted on 11/15/2006 3:15:55 PM PST by FLOutdoorsman
OK so I guessed right.
My point is that as bad as your experience was, there is a real chance that something even worse could happen now which is being awake, feeling everything, but not being able to move so much as an eyelid.
Despite the obvious fear mongering in this article, the "awakening during surgery" is astoundingly common (the article says 1 to 2 per 1000 which I think is about right) and to some degree preventable if certain monitoring equipment is purchased and used.
And I think this is a legitimate concern.
BTW to have something like that happen is bad enough. To be mocked about it afterwards - that truly sucks.
When people do have this type of thing happen to them there are often severe psychological sequelae - it definitely has been known to do a number on folks' heads. To make light of it or exploit it - seems just wrong to me.
My brother-in-law, the doctor, told me of cases where curare was administered before the primary anesthetic. The only reason they knew this was because the patient went into cardiac arrest when the surgeon started cutting.
When they do extractions of wisdom teeth, it is usually done under "conscious sedation" and not general anesthesia. With conscious sedation, they usually give you an IV of valium, demerol, and phenobarbital + the local anesthetic to numb the area. With this type of anesthesia, the patient is often able to answer simple questions, but will usually have no memory of it afterward. Hardly anything to sue over.
"They left out being anally probed by space aliens. Other than that seems like a fairly complete list :)"
I always wondered what that stinging sensation was when I was around cows.
"In 1958, at the age of 7, I woke up on the operating table in the middle of my tonsilectomy.
I still remember it quite well after nearly 50 years."
Remember the smell of the ether? To this day, when I get a whiff of anything that smells like that I gag.
Same thing happen to me in 1968 when I was 7 during my tonsellectomy.
I did not feel pain or move, but I could see a limited field of vision and I could hear their conversation. They didn't believe me.
This sounds silly, but really, DO IT: Before going under the knife for anything, take a Sharpie and mark on (or near if you can't mark on) the correct body part with an arrow and label saying "here." Make the other one with a big "X" with a label saying "NOT THIS ONE." Try to avoid the area where the actual incisions will be made. Like I said, it sounds silly, and the staff might raz you for it, but feeling silly and getting razzed are FAR better than waking up with the wrong arm/leg/eye/kidney/etc. operated upon or gone!
I remember being carried into the surgical suite. One nurse on each limb. They told me if I move they will tie me into a pretzel. Dr. Blums office in Brooklyn. 40 years later I still remember the operating suite in that little house.
I remember them dropping me in a bed afterwards where I proceeded to throw up for the next half hour, along with five other kids.
The only thing that was positive was the ice cream and the pictures my classmates sent to me as I recuperated.
"Make the other one" = "Mark the other one" PIMF
True but that could also come from leaning up against an electric fence. Either way, stay safe out there!
When I had my hip replacement a few years ago, they gave me a marker and had me put an X on the one to be replaced.
I manage a medical mal-practice account for 500 doctors. I could tell you stories !!!
Many of the claims, though, are normal surgical risks and the physicians did NOTHING wrong. They get sued anyway.
It's really sad.
maybe you were only dreaming you were awake
yep - I had novacaine, pentathol and gas and was still conscious and talking (or trying to) throughout....I had impacted wisdom teeth and the moment he pulled it - my headache went away....
Ive never had another surgery since - except a colonoscopy - and I was awake for that too
They did that with my mother when she had eye surgery. Wrote YES above one eye and NO above the other.
I recommend that anyone about to undergo surgery have a family member with them to make sure that things are done right.
I also think family members going in the room with you is a good idea. Even an arrogant doctor is gonna watch his step if he knows someone who cares is watching.
I am an operating room nurse myself. We do not like the use of the letter "X" under any circumstance. It can be confusing because it is ambiguous. Does it indicate "not this side" or does it indicate "X marks the spot?" Not everyone will mark "NOT THIS ONE" or it will be illegible.
It would be preferable to mark "YES" on the correct side and "NO" on the incorrect side.
I have seen all kinds of markings done by the patients, including check marks, X's, O's, equal signs with a slash through it, and various scribbles.
Also, if one marks himself prior to his surgery, he needs to tell the OR staff that he has done so and what that mark indicates. Imagine having confirmed the surgical site with the patient and then after he is asleep finding a big "X" or whatever on the surgical site and not knowing the patient's intention. I have seen patients awakened and their surgery postponed because of the doubt these markings have made.
Probably the best method that I seen is that in the pre-op area the patient or a family member confirms the side with either the surgeon or the OR nurse and the side is initialled by the surgeon/OR nurse and the patient/family member. This way there is an operating room staff witness and we understand what the markings indicate.
Like I said, it sounds silly, and the staff might raz you for it
Any patient who is razzed or otherwise demeaned by the staff over marking the surgical site, should ask to speak with the supervisor and report this person(s). Wrong side surgery is no joke. The vast majority of us take it extremely seriously.
LOL! I never knew the doc had such a foul mouth and such brute force technique until that happened. Your muscles are frozen, but you're wide awake listening to one doc swearing his head off, as he yanks on yer delicates and the other one's are telling him to calm down. LOL!
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