Surgery without general anesthesia

[Tommy]

A while back, I asked about the experiences of folks who had carpal tunnel relief surgery. Yesterday I had it done on my left hand and I want to comment on the use of anesthesia.

My surgeon and the anesthesiologist both wanted to give me a light general anesthesia via an IV to make me "relaxed," "drunk" or "drowsy". This was in addition to the local anesthetic injection used to deaden the surgery site. I know that these drugs commonly cause a loss of memory of the event, leaving the patient with no memory of pain or discomfort. But, it occurred to me that the pain couldn't be very bad if it allowed the surgery to proceed. And as I am not fond of the groggy, out of control feeling of general anesthesia, I declined to take it. I can report that the only discomfort came when the the local anestetic was injected in my arm, and that was not as bad as those given by the dentist before filling a tooth. I could feel pressure on my hand as the surgeon worked on it, but there was absolutely no pain. Being wide awake, I was fully aware of what was going on and could carry on a conversation with the staff. The bottom line is that doing the procedure without general anesthesia was no big deal. If you don't like the feeling of the general stuff or you want to save a few bucks, I encourage you to try it.

BTW, a day after surgery my carpal tunnel symptoms are already diminished.

[Silverback51]

They just don't want you to hear them say "OOPS" when they screw up.

[Tommy]

Actually, you hear the "Oops" either way. They just don't want you to remember it.

[bwcobra15]

I wanted general anesthetic for my vasectomy but the wife said if she had to 'go natural' during childbirth, then I had to do the same.

[Ron61]

Tommy,

Same here. I had to have a tumor removed from the upper corner of my eye and also a skin cancer from my arm. Both times they just used the local anesthetic injection and all I felt was the needle as they put it in. And both times it healed very quickly.

Ron

[twobjshelbys]

I had cataract surgery and was awake the whole time for the surgery. They used the Michael Jackson relaxant (which is a general anesthetic) for about 5 minutes while they numbed around the eye.

[Z-linkCobra]

Originally Posted by bwcobra15

I wanted general anesthetic for my vasectomy but the wife said if she had to 'go natural' during childbirth, then I had to do the same.

When I got clipped I didnt go for the general anesthectic either. I have to say the numbning injections were not the most pleasant thing in the world...but I got through it.

It was kind of neat to be awake for the whole thing. They even set up a mirror and let me watch the surgery..pretty neat I thought.

Im with Tommy on this one...I dont care for the out of controll feeling either. Same reason I dont drink. If something does go wrong I want to be able to make a decision. Right or wrong at least I know it was my decision not someone elses.

[JBCOBRA]

[Bobcat]

I will say that the one procedure you really want to be out on is an endoscopic exam of the stomach and esophagus. I had a plane to catch later that afternoon and if I had the general , that was out . The Doc said it wasn`t a big deal as they would numb my throat . So I said .... let`s do it .
That was the worst experience I`ve ever had . Ever had a tube bigger than your thumb put down your throat ? You can`t close you mouth as they put a ring in it to keep you from biting the tube ... and you sure as hell can`t say anything . All I could do was lie there , gag and have tears run down my face . After it was over , the nurses said they had never had anyone not use anesthesia during that procedure .... they all thought I was crazy .... and I did too .
Last time I ever believed that Doc on anything .

Bob

[JBCOBRA]

[95CobraR]

Originally Posted by twobjshelbys

They used the Michael Jackson relaxant (which is a general anesthetic) for about 5 minutes while they numbed around the eye.

Can you now sing in a high pitched voice and have a need to open an animal ranch in Santa Barbara?

[SP01715]

I had carpal tunnel surgery 11 days ago and hernia surgery 2 days ago. I had general anesthesia both times. I have had 7 surgeries with general anesthesia and the only problem I have had is with Morphine. I don't recovery quickly at all when given Morphine, so i now request propophol (sp) and I come right out of it. The first couple surgeries I was a little concerned about going under, but I guess I am used to it now.

[Wayne Maybury]

Originally Posted by Bobcat

I will say that the one procedure you really want to be out on is an endoscopic exam of the stomach and esophagus. I had a plane to catch later that afternoon and if I had the general , that was out . The Doc said it wasn`t a big deal as they would numb my throat . So I said .... let`s do it .
That was the worst experience I`ve ever had . Ever had a tube bigger than your thumb put down your throat ? You can`t close you mouth as they put a ring in it to keep you from biting the tube ... and you sure as hell can`t say anything . All I could do was lie there , gag and have tears run down my face . After it was over , the nurses said they had never had anyone not use anesthesia during that procedure .... they all thought I was crazy .... and I did too .
Last time I ever believed that Doc on anything .

Bob

I did the same thing and I have to admit that it was very unpleasant. They never offered a general anesthetic but they did offer to "freeze" my throat which I also declined because I figured "what the heck, this can't be a big deal". I kept trying to puke the thing out which of course is impossible. If I have to have it done again, I will at least get them to freeze my throat.

I have also had a tendon fixed in my wrist under local anesthetic only. This was really interesting as I was able to not only watch the surgeon but I was also able to move my thumb and see how the tendons work. By the way, the tendons are really white.

Wayne