Posted by Mark H. on October 17, 2000, at 10:12:26
In reply to Upcoming Knee Surgery - A Question, posted by Greg on October 17, 2000, at 8:48:05
Dear Greg,
My wife Sue had arthroscopic knee surgery after a cycling accident about six years ago (so she would have been about 46 or so at the time). Our one big regret was the use of general anesthesia. The woman in the bed next to Sue's, also an older and physically very active woman, had insisted on a local, or a spinal plus a local, and she came out of knee surgery chipper and ready to get on with her healing.
Sue's doc hadn't given her an option. The effects are difficult to describe, but she felt awful for at least a couple of weeks, sleeping half of the day and feeling poisoned. The emotional effects were strange -- she seemed to lose her confidence in her abilities for two or three months. But mostly, she said she felt sapped of energy, and it took her a good six months before her normal stamina returned. (After that, she's been fine.)
Sue had had several prior surgeries when younger, and because of her fitness she "shouldn't" have been set back so much by less than an hour of general anesthesia. But in retrospect, I think she would have endured almost anything to have avoided it.
As it was, she waited until the last minute to discuss the options with her doctor, who easily talked her out of using a block plus local.
Recently, though, we discussed with a surgeon whether Sue should get surgery for her hiatal hernia, which has caused ulcers in her esophagus and other problems. After hearing about Sue's anesthesia experience with a relatively short procedure like knee surgery, the surgeon basically said she should exhaust every other option available to her before even considering a three to four hour operation.
Hopefully, general anesthesia wouldn't affect you as severely as it did Sue, but she and I share your concerns. I just keep thinking of the woman in the next bed who got the same surgery that morning and went on with her life relatively uninterrupted.
I realize it's fruitless to generalize from one experience -- my boss recovered from an emergency appendectomy in a week with no apparent ill effects at all -- but if sharing Sue's experience could help open your options, that would be great. In addition to a spinal block and local, they could hammer you with Valium or Xanax for the anxiety, since you won't be driving yourself home from the hospital or clinic anyway. Just a thought.
Thank you for your kind and conciliatory note this morning. I have a lot to learn, and I will do so by having forgiving and patient friends like you.
Best wishes,
Mark H.
poster:Mark H.
thread:1188
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20001011/msgs/1193.html