"When Anesthesia Fails" on Discovery Health Channel

sophiekw · Aug 3, 2004

Hi,

I am researching 'anesthesia awareness' stories for a similar documentary. If anyone has any stories of awareness under anesthesia either in the USA or the UK that have been legally settled I would really like to hear from you.

Warm regards

Sophie

BigDave · Aug 3, 2004

Thanks Kevin!

At NTI for critical care last year the Aspect folks were really pushing the BIS thing hard. I ate several donuts listening to their pitch.

Oddly enough, I was talking the whole BIS thing with one of our MDA residents here just last week. It is seldom used in our facility for exactly the same reasons that you mentioned.

As far as watching heart rate etc. to evaluate level of sedation, didn't I just read that some people do not react to stimulus (initial skin incision, etc) with changes in vital signs when inadequately sedated?

BTW, when I had my vasectomy reversal I heard the urologist griping about the other MD having the OR with the good microscope (with foot powered controls). Yes I was aware, no it did not traumatize me. My co-workers got a laugh when I told them about needing a microscope to work on my privates...but that is another story!

trakstar · Aug 5, 2004

We often use the BIS monitors in the ICU as an adjunct for patients who are vented, sedated and on a paralytic IV gtt (besides the train of four). They have been hit or miss for us with regards to reliability. In the end we treat the patient.

senimoni · Aug 5, 2004

For some reason I thought they said there were 40,000 cases not 200,000?? But I do remember them saying that all cases were not the extreme ones that we saw on the special.

sonessrna · Aug 5, 2004

For some reason I thought they said there were 40,000 cases not 200,000?? But I do remember them saying that all cases were not the extreme ones that we saw on the special.

This is what I think of the BIS....one of our MDAs put it one a piece of Jello and got a conscious reading!!!! We used to use it in ICU and we got an unconscious reading on one of our nurses who was talking...I'm not impressed..and neither are many of my MDAs!!!

sonessrna · Aug 5, 2004

This is what I think of the BIS....one of our MDAs put it one a piece of Jello and got a conscious reading!!!! We used to use it in ICU and we got an unconscious reading on one of our nurses who was talking...I'm not impressed..and neither are many of my MDAs!!!

One of my staff anesthesiologists is an expert on the awareness topic. He wrote a book called "Awareness during Anesthesia" His name is M.M. Ghoneim.

mgd31181 · Aug 5, 2004

I did a report on anesthetic awareness not too long ago. Pretty scary stuff. what is even more intriguing though is that there is no change in heart rate or any other vital signs when this happens. you figure the sheer terror would cause some increase.

affected · Oct 12, 2004

Hi, I am new to the board , I am not a nurse, I am posting because I was searching the net for links to support groups and dicussions by people who have lived through this terror. This is a very big deal and it is finally coming out in the opening after 1000's have experienced it. I will offer any info I have and support you any way I can.

cuddiebear · Feb 7, 2005

I stumbled across this message board, and just wanted to say that this happened to me 8 years ago. I was having my tubes tied when suddenly I could hear, and feel everything, but could not move, speak, or open my eyes. It was the most horrifying thing that has ever happened to me! As they were rolling me out of the operating room, I sat up and started to cry and tell everyone what had happened. They scrambled to get me morphine to calm me down, only it did not work. I was histerical and could not stop shaking. The nurses kept on telling me that it was imposible, but when I started telling them what was going on in the room (my blood pressure was raising and the machine started beeping, the 2nd doctor that was leaving at the time came back in, stuff that the nurses were saying) the two nurses looked at each other and said "Oh my god, she is telling the truth". My doctor was a real jerk about it and did not come and see me until the next night although I laid in my bed and cried from the time it happened. My family, inlaws and even my husband did not believe what happened to me, but it DID happen and I pray daily that I will never need another operation as long as I live for the fear of this happen to me again is over whelming. Thanks

LPN1974, LPN · Feb 7, 2005

Well, does anyone know why this is happening???

How does this happen? Is the medication being reduced causing the patient to wake up or what?

How does that happen without the anesthesiologist being aware of it?

affected · Feb 7, 2005

HI Cuddiebear, I want to say first of all, I DO believe you, this is a very real thing. I can not imagine it happening to anyone and them not being traumatized. I suffer from SEVERE post traumatic stress syndrome because of it. Unlike you I was fortunate enough that my family believed me. I was unable to tell anyone for about three days after my surgery, I felt like I was crazy, there was no way this had happened to me, but it did. I did not tell my operating physician until my 6 week check up. He was speechless when I began to tell him which side of me he was standing and that a colleague of his had came into the operating room to assist, that he cut me from left to right, pausing in the center, all the details, his jaw just hit the floor. I was never offered to talk to anyone about it or anything, just an "I am sorry". To this day I still do not know my anesthesiologist name. All I know she was expecting a baby and it was her last day before her maternity leave. I would like to give you a link to a website that I visit. This lady is UNBELIEVABLE, everything she has done for those of us who have experienced Anesthesia Awareness. Contact her and she will help you anyway she can. If you would like to give her your contact info and ask her to email me with your info, I will be more than happy to talk to you about your experience. http://www.anesthesiaawareness.com/

I stumbled across this message board, and just wanted to say that this happened to me 8 years ago. I was having my tubes tied when suddenly I could hear, and feel everything, but could not move, speak, or open my eyes. It was the most horrifying thing that has ever happened to me! As they were rolling me out of the operating room, I sat up and started to cry and tell everyone what had happened. They scrambled to get me morphine to calm me down, only it did not work. I was histerical and could not stop shaking. The nurses kept on telling me that it was imposible, but when I started telling them what was going on in the room (my blood pressure was raising and the machine started beeping, the 2nd doctor that was leaving at the time came back in, stuff that the nurses were saying) the two nurses looked at each other and said "Oh my god, she is telling the truth". My doctor was a real jerk about it and did not come and see me until the next night although I laid in my bed and cried from the time it happened. My family, inlaws and even my husband did not believe what happened to me, but it DID happen and I pray daily that I will never need another operation as long as I live for the fear of this happen to me again is over whelming. Thanks

lapappey · Feb 7, 2005

I've just started seeing the BIS, or "consciousness monitoring forehead thingy" :chuckle, lately (I'm in the PACU.) It interests me and I'd like to here some anesthetist's prespectives on it. Is it basically just a really limited EEG (BIS is to EEG as tele box is to 12-lead, maybe?) Or something completely different? I'd be interested to know.