Expert: Ronald Levy, M.D. - 3/14/2008

Question
With my first baby they had given me an epidural, but it wore off shortly after it had taken affect. When they decided they had to do a c-section, they tried to give me something stronger, but I could feel the scalpel- so they had to give me a general anesthetic, to put me under. I am scared that I will have to be put under again. Is that common? What concerns should I have?

Answer
Assuming you don't have any chronic back problems (which can sometimes affect the spread of the local anesthesia), the liklihood that the same thing will happen next time is small. There are numerous reasons why the epidural stopped working and most of those are technical. The next time you need a spinal or epidural should work fine.

Ronald Levy, MD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston