This video may not be for the faint of heart so if you tend to get queasy, you might want
to click out of this right now and watch one of our other, less-disturbing videos.
If you think you can handle it though, then, by all means, continue watching.
But don’t say we didn’t warn you.
The idea is like something out of a horror film.
You’re groggy, in a haze and your surroundings are blurry.
Yet, you’re conscious.
At first, you assume that you’re waking up because your surgery is over.
But then you hear the murmuring of busy doctors and the rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor.
It is then when you figure out to your ultimate dismay that the surgery isn’t over yet.
You’ve woken up too early.
You begin to panic, your heart rate increases, and you suddenly realize that you’re in
pain – a lot of pain.
Agonizing, unbearable pain!
As your vision begins to clear, you witness with terror that your internal organs are
exposed.
The surgeons have you sliced wide open and are using tools while working inside of you.
You scream, they realize that you’re awake, and the doctors look to you with sudden alarm.
A mad frenzy then ensues as medical staff rush to put you back to sleep.
That’s the nightmare scenario, but is this based on any truth in reality?
What really happens if you wake up during surgery?
For those who have ever been told they have to undergo surgery, whether it be for something
simple or complex, a familiar question tends to surface: “Will I feel anything?”
The doctor reassures you, explaining that you will be placed under anesthesia and enjoy
a blissful sleep without experiencing any pain throughout the process.
For a while, you may be feeling calm.
Then your imagination runs wild and you wonder anxiously, “what happens if I’m not fully
asleep or I wake up in the middle of the procedure?”
For those of us without medical expertise, this is a legitimate question and we want
to know what we’re getting into before we go under the knife.
Remember in the tv show, Lost, when the doctor had to help perform his own appendectomy?
That was one painful scene we hope no one has to go through in real life.
It’s easy to imagine that being awake during surgery would be a very unpleasant experience.
After all, getting a paper cut is painful enough let alone watching yourself be cut
open by a scalpel.
Rest assured, if you’re under enough anesthesia, you won’t be conscious through any of it.
It is said that in about one or two of every 1,000 surgical procedures using general anesthesia,
a patient may become aware or conscious of what is going on.
This number, however, is still disputed with another study of over 200,000 participants
showing 0.0068% of patients experiencing consciousness during surgery.
This is a phenomenon known as anesthesia awareness.
During this very rare occurrence, patients are said to be able to recall their surroundings,
or an event related to the surgery while they were under anesthesia.
So, for example, if the surgeons were rocking out to some Bryan Adams while performing your
surgery, you could recall that you heard the song, “Cuts Like a Knife,” during your
ordeal.
This might end up being somewhat embarrassing for the surgeons who were caught not putting
on a professional front, thinking they could get away with a jam session while you were
under.
Before you jump to conclusions wondering if you’ve experienced anesthesia awareness
during your last surgery, it is important to note that many people dream during surgery,
which might cause them to believe they were aware of it when they were not.
We spoke with some doctors who suggested the strong possibility that anesthesia awareness
is a myth.
This is simply for the reason that, if you’re heavily under with enough anesthesia to put
you out through a complicated surgery, you can’t wake up at all.
Unless you have super powers and you’re impervious to the medication, you cannot gain
consciousness, let alone experience awareness of your surroundings.
The experts explained that this is simply impossible.
This is not to say, however, that a patient who claims to have been through the ordeal
is lying but, rather, more likely to be experiencing false memories.
False memories are those in which we perceive to be true but are not grounded in reality.
Because memories are complex and often unreliable, there is a lot of evidence to suggest that
they can be reconstructed, molded like play-doh, and undergo change, either as people age or
as their views or interpretations over a situation change.
Thus, our minds leave us with a lot of flexibility and leeway for the production of false memories.
We may even sometimes interpret our dreams as actual events that happened to us.
But what about those rare instances when patients can recount exactly what happened during their
surgery with surprising accuracy?
Can that happen by chance?
It is a topic that is widely open for debate.
Whether based on false memories or not, when patients perceive anesthetic awareness, it
can often be highly upsetting and sometimes frightening, leading some to experience post-traumatic
stress.
This may be due, in large part, to the sensation of not being able to move or signal for help
while going through it, which can be very intense.
Some of these patients benefit from counseling after surgery to help them cope with their
confusion and their stress from the procedure.
These are, however, pretty extreme cases and not very common.
During anesthesia awareness, it is not generally said that patients feel physical pain.
So, this would eliminate the horrific idea of a patient waking up mid-surgery screaming
as if under extreme medieval torture.
At most, people might recall a feeling of pressure, but that’s about the extent of
it.
If you envisioned something more drastic or dramatic than this, like the scenario discussed
at the beginning of this episode, we’re sorry to disappoint you.
Hopefully though, if you have a surgery scheduled soon, you’re feeling comforted right now
by the knowledge that you likely won’t feel pain during your operation.
Recovery, however, is another subject for another day.
We wish you luck with that aspect of it.
Physician anesthesiologists are said to be among the most highly skilled medical experts
when it comes to pain management and anesthesia care.
In order to become one, you have to go through the same grueling process of any doctor.
First, you have to go through medical school, then complete a four-year anesthesiology residency,
training with highly skilled medical school faculty.
Following the residency, some doctors proceed to do a fellowship in order to further train
in anesthesiology specialties.
So, the good news is that if you are going to be a patient in a clinical or hospital
setting undergoing an upcoming, routine surgery, you’ll likely be in good hands with very
little to worry about.
The concept of anesthesia awareness is said to be more common for surgeries when the typical
dose of anesthesia required to put someone fully to sleep is deemed unsafe for the specific
condition.
Surgeries using less anesthetic might include certain types of heart surgery, surgeries
for traumatic injuries, and emergency C-sections.
This last one is typical since it is too dangerous for a pregnant mother to be completely under,
due to the risk of harming her unborn child.
Nevertheless, common sense would dictate that it is more likely patients will recall what
happened during surgery when they are not fully put to sleep to begin with.
With that under consideration, higher chances and prevalence rates of anesthesia awareness
are associated with procedures that do not involve general anesthesia.
These include the use of other, lighter forms of anesthesia or sedation.
For minor procedures such as a colonoscopy, a certain type of biopsy, or even a dental
procedure, the use of intravenous, or “twilight” sedation is more common.
No, we’re not talking about those sparkling vampires that were all the rage back in the
2000’s.
What we mean is an anesthetic technique where only a mild dose of general anesthesia is
used, mainly to reduce anxiety.
During this type of sedation, the patient can be described as not unconscious, but sedated.
So, you may be aware of your surroundings without being fully present, if that makes
sense.
It is basically like being relaxed and sleepy, drifting in and out but still responsive and
able to follow directions from your doctor.
Thus, this technique gets its name because patients are in what is known as a “twilight
state” of mentality, somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness.
Let’s see if you can wrap your head around what that might be like.
Local or regional anesthesia is another form of sedation, which often includes the use
of epidurals, spinal blocks or nerve blocks.
This should not put you to sleep so you’ll still be aware of what is going on.
This method only temporarily numbs an area that is undergoing treatment during surgery.
You might recognize the epidural as being commonly used for pregnant mothers going through
intense labor pain.
In this case, the epidural is administered by injecting a small amount of anesthetic
directly into the spine – Ouch!
Pain relief usually occurs about 10 to 20 minutes later because the medicine is introduced
gradually.
If working properly, the woman should no longer feel pain and be numb in the lower part of
her body.
Only about 1 out of 100 women need additional painkillers when they have an epidural.
Considering the extent of labor pain, this can seem unbelievable.
Try telling a woman in labor that she doesn’t need more painkillers and let’s see if you
get out of there alive.
Often, however, a single injection isn’t enough to last throughout the entire birthing
process.
Many might agree that childbirth must be among the worst on the list of medical situations
to have to be wide awake for.
Imagine, for a moment, being fully conscious while you’re basically being torn apart,
as a potential watermelon or bowling ball-sized human makes its way, emerging outward through
the cramped vaginal canal.
Perhaps it is comparable to a real-life version of that iconic scene in the famous, 1979 film,
Alien.
Remember when the xenomorph busted from Kane’s stomach?
Ok, we’re over exaggerating just a bit.
Childbirth isn’t always quite as dramatic as this, but you get the idea.
It is still a messy bloodbath that the woman is required to stay awake for, though there
are many who view it as miraculous.
Whether you believe this to be the case is a highly subjective matter, so we’ll turn
it back to you.
If you have experienced the pleasure or disgust of witnessing an actual childbirth, would
you say it was more or less disturbing than a scene from a horror movie?
We’d be curious to learn your opinion.
As a side note, the next time you visit the dentist and complain about the pain of your
root canal while requesting extra laughing gas, you may be interested to know that you’re
getting more if not the same amount of relief than many women who have given birth before.
This is because laughing gas was, at one time, widely used as a popular method of relieving
labor pain in Germany.
Let that sink in your mind for just a moment.
Aren’t you glad we told you?
So, which medical procedure do you believe would be the worst to have to be awake for?
Have you ever woken up during surgery?
We’d like to hear your story.
Let us know in the comments!
Also, be sure to check out our other video Why Are People Dying From Brazilian Butt Lift
Surgery!
Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe.
See you next time!