Expert: Ronald Levy, M.D. - 2/28/2008

Question
My dad was about to go through a surgery on his leg.  He was given spinal anesthetic however when the anesthetic started wearing off, they switched to general anesthetic.  My dad paniced during this which caused problems prior to the surgery, ended w/ the termination of the surgery.

He's been in ICU for 6 hours and in great condition (all vitals are perfect) except that his lips (around his mouth) is swollen and he asked me about the same thing today about 5 times; seemed like he didn't remember asking it on the previous times.

Can this be an affect of the general anesthetic they tried for a period?

Thx,

Metehan

Answer
Some of the drugs we give do cause amnesia so if this occurred immediately after surgery then it could be related. If it is several days later, then it is probably not related and should be evaluated.

Ronald Levy, MD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston