We trust that everything will go well during an operation, because we place our body in the hands of a surgeon. The operation often goes well because the patient is under anesthesia. However, this does not work correctly in all situations and the patient’s consciousness returns during the operation. What does the anesthesia consist of, with which we are put under anesthesia and why is there a possibility that we will wake up during the operation? And even more important is the question whether we experience pain during that consciousness.

Awake during surgery

• Anesthesia
• What if a component is administered too little?
• Anesthetist avoids coming out of anesthesia
• Awake during surgery, how often does it happen?

Anesthesia

Anesthesia is used to operate on a body without the patient noticing or seeing anything. Anesthesia is divided into three components:

• the sleep-inducing component. This causes the patient to go to sleep;
• the muscle relaxing component, which allows the doctor to cut into the tissue without interruption;
• the analgesic component, so that the patient does not feel any pain.

Under normal circumstances, these three components together ensure that the patient falls asleep before the treatment until the treatment is completed. During that period, the patient does not feel or notice anything from the operation. But what if a problem arises with the administration of anesthesia?

What if a component is administered too little?

The anesthetist’s job is to continuously monitor the patient, so that the patient is always under control. To this end, it must continuously monitor the administration. However, there are circumstances in which one of the three components is administered to a lesser extent unnoticed. This may include the following.

Administration of sleep inducer is insufficient

The patient wakes up, but the other two components are still sufficiently administered. There will be a sense that the surgeon is working and that can lead to anxiety. The patient cannot move and has no pain.

Pain numbing or muscle numbing component is insufficient

It will immediately be noticed that the muscles start to move again and so the anesthetist will adjust the amount of muscle anesthetic component. If there is a shortage of the pain-numbing component, the body can experience a kind of stress. Due to the sleep that is present, the pain will not be consciously experienced.

Anesthetist avoids coming out of anesthesia

The anesthetist’s primary task is to monitor the patient for any reactions if there is insufficient administration of anesthesia. Naturally, every person responds differently to anesthesia, so administration must be carefully monitored. Any sign of pain or insufficient deep sleep should be recognized immediately so that the administration of anesthesia is changed. It is therefore rare for a patient to wake up during the operation. The patient often describes afterwards that the state of increasing consciousness was short-lived because the anesthetist responded quickly to the circumstance.

Awake during surgery, how often does it happen?

So far it has not been extensively researched, but it is estimated that an increase in awareness occurs in one to two in a thousand anesthesias. Other institutions suspect that this is much lower. Regardless of the figure, it is of course shocking to experience coming out of anesthesia or waking up during the operation. There can be emotional consequences and cause recurring nightmares. They usually pass with time. However, if there has been the unexpected combination of waking up in combination with pain, then it is clear that the anesthetist has not done his job sufficiently. This may then fall under the heading of a medical error and compensation can be obtained.

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