# Awake during surgery??
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 25, 2007, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864 "2007-08-25T03:16:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Ring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ring)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/1 "2007-08-25T03:16:38Z")
I just caught the very end of a CNN report about people who, under general anesthesia, were completely conscience and aware of every scalpel cut, and suffered the full impact of the unbearable pain. Supposedly, the panic induced from paralysis coupled with the terrible pain drove them insane.
The voice over said something like this could be happening to thousands of people every year!! Pardon me!! This can’t really be happening can it?
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### Author:  [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/2 "2007-08-25T03:23:28Z")
They’re probably exagerating the numbers and the trauma for ratings, but it’s a real phenomena.
The master speaks.
[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990226.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990226.html)
ETA: Perhaps there’s been an upswing in cases (or awareness thereof) in the past eight years.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/3 "2007-08-25T03:27:13Z")
I woke up during knee surgery. Fully awake. And it hurt. The anesthesiologist wouldn’t put me under again.
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### Author:  [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/4 "2007-08-25T03:32:45Z")
It happened to a friend of mine. She was awake and paralyzed during her knee surgery. The doctors didn’t believe her when she came out of it until she began repeating the conversations they’d had during it. She had serious mental trauma afterwards. I know at least once she woke up screaming in the middle of the night and started running around naked. Not good.
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### Author:  [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/5 "2007-08-25T04:02:00Z")
Been there, done that. Worst experience of my life.
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### Author:  [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/6 "2007-08-25T04:07:12Z")
I’m sure the trauma doesn’t seem ‘exaggerated’ for those who’ve had the experience. I regret my choice of words, and withdraw them.
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### Author:  [@Ring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ring)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/7 "2007-08-25T04:13:10Z")
My God! I can’t believe this has happened to you guys. It’s beyond my belief that I’ve never ever heard of this before. I can’t even imagine what it would be like if this happened during something like abdominal or some other major surgery. I seriously think I might kill someone if this were done to me, especially since the program said this can be prevented by using some kind of a machine.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/8 "2007-08-25T04:19:42Z")
[QUOTE=Ring]
My God! I can’t believe this has happened to you guys.
[/QUOTE]
Just to be clear: I was _fully_ awake and able to communicate. I saw my knee flayed open. I told the anesthesiologist that the pain was excruciating. He said they were ‘almost done’ and refused more anesthesia. It took about another half hour or so.
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### Author:  [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/9 "2007-08-25T04:22:51Z")
Well, I was awake for my knee and shoulder surgeries, but that’s because I had a spinal block. I chose the spinal because when I asked the anesthesiologist what he would choose if he were under the knife, he said “spinal”.
During my knee surgery, I asked the anesthesiologist what was causing the intense pain in my thigh. He said that was a tourniquet and seemed surprised that I felt it. About that time I felt a cold trickle down my back and the pain went away. As did the anesthesiologist, the OR, and everything else for a little while.
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### Author:  [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/10 "2007-08-25T04:43:17Z")
In the book The Mind’s I by Douglas Hofstadter and Daniel Dennet, I read that at least some phsyologists (or whoever it is that studies this kind of thing) think that the anasthesia we use during surgery works, not by rendering you unconscious, but rather, by rendering you paralyzed and unable to form memories. So you experience it–but then don’t remember it afterwards. The unfortunate people we’re talking abotu in this thread would, then, be those who managed to form memories of something _everyone_ experiences during surgery.
It brings up an interesting (admittedly IMHO-forum type) question. If you knew surgery really is like this–you knew that you would be conscious and fully cogniscent of the agony of bein cut into and having your insides rearranged–but you also knew you’d have no memory, not even unconscious, of the event, would you still be willing to undergo the process?
-FrL-
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### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/11 "2007-08-25T05:04:41Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.]
Just to be clear: I was _fully_ awake and able to communicate. I saw my knee flayed open. I told the anesthesiologist that the pain was excruciating. He said they were ‘almost done’ and refused more anesthesia. It took about another half hour or so.
[/QUOTE]
I’d reply that I will sue his ass for malpractice unless he puts me back under.
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### Author:  [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/12 "2007-08-25T05:21:32Z")
[QUOTE=Ring]
I can’t even imagine what it would be like if this happened during something like abdominal or some other major surgery.
[/QUOTE]
I can…sort of. I did wake up in the middle of my esophageal replacement surgery (~34 years ago). Even tried to sit up on the operating table, while they had me cut wide open. Luckily, I didn’t actually _feel_ anything, but I do still recall the images and sounds of very panicked surgeons. They put me back under anesthesia with extreme haste.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/13 "2007-08-25T05:29:30Z")
Isn’t this one reason why they use drugs like Versed that have amnesia effects, so if you wake up or experience pain, you will be unable to remember it?
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### Author:  [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/14 "2007-08-25T06:20:16Z")
Given the number of Dopers owning up to experiencing this, it seems it is relatively common! :eek:
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### Author:  [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/15 "2007-08-25T07:09:17Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool]
> [@Johnny L.A.](#):
>
> Just to be clear: I was fully awake and able to communicate. I saw my knee flayed open. I told the anesthesiologist that the pain was excruciating. He said they were ‘almost done’ and refused more anesthesia.
It took about another half hour or so.I’d reply that I will sue his ass for malpractice unless he puts me back under.
[/QUOTE]
:eek: Holy fuck **Johnny**. At this point what you should have done is reached out and grabbed the anesthesiologist’s family jewels and informed him that you were going to transfer some of the pain to him, if he did not put you back out. Like they say “When you have them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.” 😃
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### Author:  [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/16 "2007-08-25T14:08:28Z")
Interesting. I have had two operations in my life (one 57 years ago and one 2 years ago) and both were spinal. I don’t recall much about the first one, but during the second I had an interesting conversation with the anasthetist and felt no pain. So I guess spinal is the way to go.
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### Author:  [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/17 "2007-08-25T15:04:50Z")
There’s a notion that the meme of rmeembering being abducted by UFO aliens, strapped down to a table, and poked and prodded by creatures looking like they’re wearing surgical masks, then waking up in a bed may have originated in this kind of experience.
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### Author:  [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/18 "2007-08-25T15:09:37Z")
I had a spinal block during my knee surgery as well. I woke up in the middle, watched the surgery on the TV for a little bit, and then went back to sleep. I would definitely go that route over general anesthesia if you can, if only to avoid complications with general anesthesia. No pain, I got to watch it (which was pretty cool), and afterward none of that coughing and deep breathing stuff to get your lungs properly inflated again.
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### Author:  [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/19 "2007-08-25T15:18:16Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool]
I’d reply that I will sue his ass for malpractice unless he puts me back under.
[/QUOTE]
Not if you don’t wake up.Probably not wise to threaten an anaesthetologist.
I recently has a tough cataract surgery that took 3 times the normal 20 minutes and my sedation wore off during it. No pain at all but I could hear the pump used to suck the pulverized lens out of the orb and heard the doc call for another lens implant when the first one tore during insertion, then heard him say “done” to which I responded “Halleluliah, I can see again!” He said “Amen”.
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### Author:  [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2007, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awake-during-surgery/416864/20 "2007-08-25T16:54:46Z")
[QUOTE=1920s Style “Death Ray”]
Given the number of Dopers owning up to experiencing this, it seems it is relatively common! :eek:
[/QUOTE]
Anecdotal: I had stitches removed when I was 10 or so under local anesthesia – except somehow I was immune to the anesthetic, so I was aware of the pain the whole time, including when they were pulling stitches out of a scab. I think my mom got me ice cream afterwards because I never even made a sound.
Anyway, I think the only reason this seems common is that nobody who didn’t wake up during surgery is posting, leading to a false sense of numbers.
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