Re: brain damage

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

My thoughts/personal experience:

My father had major surgery in 2004 on his neck/spinalcord.... it

obviously wasn't jaw surgery.... BUT, he was under general

anesthesia. He had a reaction to one of the medications the

anesthesiologist gave him and wouldn't wake back up after the surgery

for nearly 24 hours. Initially the surgeon/anesthesiologist (frankly

the entire hospital including All of anest.) didn't know what

happened or was happening.... they were concerned about possible

brain damage as a result... He woke up finally and was fine. They

figured out which drug it was (one of the meds used for antinausea)

and determined that he must have had an adverse reaction to the

specific drug. He had the surgery repeated about a week later with no

problems with the anesthesia that time... and they obviously didn't

administer that specific drug again! So, I guess the possibility

exists about brain damage since the Dr.'s then were concerned of it

being a possible outcome if he did wake up (we didn't know if he

would wake up).

I think that is one of the risks with anest. in general.... for

example, if something happens with your blood pressure for some

reason -that leading to insufficient oxygen supply to brain.... but

that is why patients are intubated and closely monitored.... also why

testing/health exams should be performed prior to surgery to make

sure the patient is healthy enough to reasonably undertake the risk

of anest./surgery and recovery. Proper precautions should be

taken....

That all being said, I had my surgery with no problems at all... ( I

warned them about the possibility of having inherited my dad's

sensitivity to that drug since I inherited his jaws! In the end, I

came out just as dumb as I ever was! Not more or less! And,

general anest. is administered all day every day all around the

world.... so it's general use isn't that rare or unusual. Obviously

not everyone is being dramatically affected by it. I guess this is

one reason why anesthesiology is one of the highest paid specialties

in medicine!

Good luck as you contemplate everything. As I researched everything,

I found it hard at times to not become freaked out and terrified

about everything.... Discuss your concerns with your Dr/surgeon too!

They can inform you and reassure you the best!

Take care,

Katja (ps, sorry for being so longwinded!!)

>

> Has anyone ever heard of or read articles discussing the risks of

brain damage due to the anesthesia used during this type of surgery?

That sounds pretty scarey to me .

> Any thoughts/experiences w/this type if thing?

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

,

I haven't heard or read articles discussing the risks of brain damage due to the

anesthesia used during the surgery. I have had 32 surgeries and have no brain

damage at all. I was under anesthesia for 14 hours during jaw surgery and I am

absolutely fine. My Dr or aneasthesist didn't mention risk of brain damage

either.

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[Guest guest]

Nope, never heard of that either. I think Cammie's anaesthesiologist

(or anaesthetist - but I can't spell that properly) gave the best

answer, which I'm paraphrasing: " Anyone can put you to sleep. It's

getting you to wake up again that is the challenge " .

Just find the best anaesthesiologist and surgeon you can and relax.

It's all out of your control once you're under.

>

> Has anyone ever heard of or read articles discussing the risks of

brain damage due to the anesthesia used during this type of surgery?

That sounds pretty scarey to me .

> Any thoughts/experiences w/this type if thing?

>