
Going Under the Knife, with Eyes and Ears Wide Open - DiabloD3
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/25/health/surgery-awake-anesthesia.html
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VA3FXP
I had a brain tumor removed in 1990 (epilepsy sucks). I was awake for the
entire procedure (12hrs). And spoke with the doctor and nursing staff while it
was going on.

My only regret was not asking for a mirror so that I could watch.

Many years ago TLC (before it degraded into trash) had an excellent show
called "The Operation" where it would show EVERYTHING that happened during a
medical procedure. (From a teaching hospital) It was incredible to watch and
very educational.

~~~
rl3
> _Many years ago TLC (before it degraded into trash) ..._

That's an understatement. In fact, the comparison is actually unfair to trash.

> _... an excellent show called "The Operation" where it would show EVERYTHING
> that happened during a medical procedure ..._

I don't see why TLC couldn't air a similar show today. They could just focus
on the _human element_ , which is to say drama that's either completely
scripted and/or manufactured via editing in post.

Gore would be completely off the table though. The average viewer just
wouldn't be able to enjoy their super-sized soft drink watching that.

> _It was incredible to watch and very educational._

Network executives at Discovery have most likely since instituted an
organization-wide ban of the word "educational" on general principle.

~~~
aero142
I feel like complaints about certain shows going away are under-appreciating
how much youtube and podcasts have changed the demand side. You can watch all
the surgeries you want on youtube without waiting for it to show up on the TLC
broadcast schedule.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t15SOrkc7E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t15SOrkc7E)

I find podcasts today to be way better today than any "educational" tv shows
ever were.

~~~
rl3
That's a very good point.

It's worth noting however that reality television predates YouTube. That's not
to say there weren't still alternatives back then, but when comparing the two
mediums I think it at least constitutes a small dark age of sorts.

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Aaargh20318
Being awake while operated upon is the worst horror scenario I can imagine.

I mean, I drive an hour and a half to a _dentist_ that will knock me out
during the procedure and I'm agoraphobic; I'm more afraid of the drive there
than the actual procedure. No way I'm going to have anything even more serious
done to me while I'm fully aware of what is happening.

~~~
nkrisc
I was talking to a co-worker recently about dental work and he shared a story
with me about having his wisdom teeth removed with nothing but some local
anesthetic. It wasn't until after, what he described as, the worst experience
of his life he learned that general anesthesia is common for the procedure.

~~~
nradov
There are significant risks to general anesthesia. It's better to avoid unless
really necessary.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postoperative_cognitive_dysfun...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postoperative_cognitive_dysfunction)

When I had my wisdom teeth extracted the oral surgeon loaded me up with a lot
of local anesthetic. So while it was an _unpleasant_ experience the pain was
bearable.

~~~
nkrisc
When he described the dentist climbing on top of him to get more leverage,
then having to take a break to regain his strength, I think I'd have preferred
to not be awake for that.

~~~
tmd83
I had to take 3 of my wisdom tooth out in 2 sittings. For the last one the
junior dentist couldn't get the tooth and the senior one came in gave it a
couple of hefty twist/pull before raising the chair and completely leaning on
me and finally managing to pull it out. It was more painful that time,
swelling took a weak to get down. But it still wasn't terribly painful with a
single injection of local anesthetic on the gum. All my teeth's were like 45
degree angle and pressing against the molar which caused the pain. I have to
wonder what kind of pain or condition would require a general anesthetic.

~~~
Arizhel
I had mine taken out under general anesthesia. My two bottom teeth were at a
90-degree angle. They drilled them apart into pieces so they could remove
them.

Also, what's with all these people saying they had a _dentist_ remove their
wisdom teeth? I didn't; I had to go to an oral surgeon.

~~~
antisthenes
Even with impacted wisdom teeth and local anesthetic, I would only call the
procedure mildly unpleasant. It was over in 30 minutes for all 4 teeth and
there was almost no pain (but lots of pressure on the jaw). Yes, they drilled
them in half to take them out as well.

Local anesthetic is frigging amazing.

The recovery period, in comparison, was hell.

Swollen face, bleeding, subsisting on yogurt and milk for a week, unable to
open mouth fully, opiates that made you drowsy/nauseous and didn't do much for
the pain.

Going back for a checkup a week later, my surgeon tried to force my mouth open
for inspection and I almost passed out from the pain.

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appleiigs
For a lengthy surgery, even though I'd be happy to watch, I think the surgeon
needs to work fast. Not to worry about my feelings. The longer I'm open, the
higher chance of infection. I'd hope the nurses would be able to speak up if
doctor was an idiot.

On the other hand, when I had my wisdom teeth taken out, my friends suggested
staying awake. If you're asleep the dentist is rougher and recovery is longer.

My dentist is my brother's friend. While he was taking one of the teeth out, I
heard a large crack and he said "Awe fuck". Nothing serious, but my tooth
cracked and it takes longer to finish. He'd prefer to pull out the tooth
whole, root and all. Dentist knew I wouldn't care, but some people would be
alarmed.

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silencio
I really badly wanted to watch my unplanned but non-emergency C-section. I had
a long, rough labor and being aware of everything going on was helping me
process everything. Besides, it is standard for non-emergency C-sections to
only require regional anesthesia so I didn't think it was a big deal.

Alas, I was instead treated to the sight of my anesthesiology resident trying
to conceal her panic while she paged her attending because I started feeling
the surgeon cut into me - not pressure or tugging, but a whole shitload of
pain making me see stars. She had given me a max dose of anesthetic to achieve
what she thought was an acceptable level of analgesia but apparently it wasn't
good enough. I got treated to the ketamine trip of my life, and then thanked
the stars for versed.

Would do this again though given the chance - even with this kind of horrific
one-off experience and that I don't have much memory of the surgery otherwise,
I am pretty satisfied with the entire situation and how it played out. I don't
know that I'm pushing back against paternalism or suspicion, I just want to
sate my curiosity, you know?

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5555624
It would depend on the operation. Back in 1982, I had surgery to repair
several ligaments in my knee. The plan was for me to be awake for the entire
operation. (They gave me headphones and let me pick a radio station.) The
neural block did not quite take, because I felt the incision -- not as if I
had just been sliced by a scalpel; but, it was uncomfortable. They decided to
knock me out and turned a valve on an IV and I was out. Unlike full-blown
anesthesia, I was barely out and was awake about 10 minutes after they
finished.

Two years ago, I had a vitrectomy and I was awake for that. For that, I would
rather have been asleep. Even if you can't feel them poking your eye, it's a
bit unsettling.

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jartelt
I had two toe nails removed with local anesthetic. For a pretty minor
operation, it was already a little weird so I can't imagine getting a knee
replacement (like the guy in the article). I watched a bit of my toe operation
but started to get light headed when they were digging around in the toe. It's
just really strange when you can feel the doctor pulling and cutting things
without any associated pain. If anyone has surgery with local anesthetic, I
would recommend not watching and distracting yourself with a podcast...

~~~
bryanlarsen
I had a minor operation and watched it. As you said, it's a really strange
feeling. You can feel the tugs, but it's muted and there's no pain. I thought
it was the coolest thing ever.

Then when I had a major operation I asked for local anaesthetic, but they
tented things up and refused to let me watch. :(

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vidanay
I had this exact scenario a year ago. No big deal. I was having surgery to
repair a nerve after a bad finger injury. The nerve block in the arm pit was
the worst part of the whole process. At one point the anesthesiologist got
tired of talking to me and he went to the prep room to get my phone so I could
web surf because I was bored. I even stuck the phone over the curtain and took
a picture, which the surgeon wasn't thrilled about.

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jksmith
It's really no big deal. Popped a bicep, so at Andrews they just did an arm
block and sewed it back down. Will have another block done for a detached
tendon on my ankle. Blocks are the way to go where appropriate. I can't stand
being put out - time to clear the fog after waking up seems to get longer and
longer as I get older.

~~~
mikestew
_time to clear the fog after waking up seems to get longer and longer as I get
older._

As one who has been under general anesthesia on and off since 18 months old,
I'll confirm your suspicions with anecdata. When I was a kid, and the
anesthesia back then would make you _way_ foggier than the modern stuff, I be
back bouncing around in about 24 hours. The anesthetics have gotten better
over the years, but the recovery times have gotten longer. As of about five
years ago, it takes about a week for my head to clear up.

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bryanlarsen
When they were putting pins into my broken ankle they asked if I wanted local
or general anaesthetic. I chose local because I wanted to watch, but when they
started the surgery they tented it and refused to let me watch.

