I was wondering if there were alternatives to general anaesthesia, aka a paralytic with moderate sedation? Thankfully I don’t need anything done but I was pondering it because I had an uncle who asked for propothyl but he probably had regional not center of mass surgeries.
My family history has not done well with GA but the uncle that had propothyl had a good outcome so I was wondering if propothyl plus an epidural or similar paralytic can be used in patients where GA is not well tolerated?
What are you having done?
Nothing. I was merely asking as a novice since I know very little about medicine and found my uncle’s idea interesting but didn’t know how feasible it was as an alternative. I don’t know if there is a way to handle center mass things. He’s recently lost two brothers within about 4 weeks probably both due to complications from surgery though I don’t necessarily have all the details.
Thanks so much!
In some circumstances, maybe. Talk with the anesthesiologist ahead of time. I do think some anesthesiologists don’t sufficiently adjust for the weight of the patient. A small person doesn’t need as much. It can also be tough on dementia patients.
Thanks. I appreciate the insight.
My uncle had a heart attack within days after an eye surgery.
My dad had cognitive decline after gallbladder surgery. It is likely he had the undiagnosed beginnings of dementia
It’s a depends. They normally don’t use a general for eye surgery. As in you don’t go unconscious.
There are several surgeries where you don’t render the person unconscious. Many brain surgeries are done with the person awake.
I had cataract surgery. Was awake the whole time. They just make you loopy.
You’d want to be knocked out for fall bladder surgery. That’s a rough surgery.
Wintermute - I was, also, awake when I had cataract surgery that was done at the doctor’s surgical eye center. At first I was afraid to be awake for it and wanted to have general anesthesia. Then when my doctor told me almost everyone is awake for it but if I wanted to have general anesthesia it would have to be done at an actual hospital because of the potential risks, I decided to stay awake for it. It was much easier than I thought it would be and the doctor talked to me while he was doing the surgery.
Good to know. I was just wondering if there are multiple ways to knock someone out, keep them paralyzed, and not be in pain.
Thanks so much for the kind posts. I definitely think the heart condition and my dad’s early onset dementia played a role.
I really like this article. I know my last living uncle refuses GA and so far, he’s been happy. He has had stents.