Expert: Ronald Levy, M.D. - 5/4/2008

Question
hello,
it looks like I will be having a thyroid nodule removed from my neck and I'm wondering, do you know if it would be possible to do this procedure under regional or a local anesthesia. See, the problem is I have emetophobia (fear of vomiting) and besides being frightened to death about going "under", I am very much afraid of all the vomiting that is sure to come after surgery. Any advice or info on this is greatly appreciated.
thanks,
nicki

Answer
It would be next to impossible to do this under regional or local so general is the only way to go. As far as the vomitting, we have medicines that reduce the incidence significantly and if you let your anesthesiologist know about your fear, I'm sure he will tailor his anesthetic to minimize the chances ofyou getting nausea. As for fear of "going under" don't worry. The risk of a serious complication from anesthesia is less than the chances of getting hit by lightning TWICE in the same day! Anesthesia is very safe so don't be afraid.

Ronald Levy, MD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston