Expert: Ronald Levy, M.D. - 8/15/2008

Question
QUESTION: IN Jan. 2008 I had general anesthesia 6 times due to a nearly fatal ski
accident(skier vs. tree) It is 8 months later and I have extreme brain fog. I feel
like I'm "under water" or in a constant dream state. I think it may be due to all
the anesthesia in my system. There are many others like me-but no answers.
Has there been any follow up research about the after-effects of anesthesia?
If there isn't, there should be!

ANSWER: This is not due to anesthesia but more likely related to the original injury. My first guess (obviously with very limited information about your accident) is that this is related to Traumatic brain injury (TBI). Similar to war veterans returning from Iraq, this is a common finding in post TBI patients. I would suggest seeing a neurologist/neurosurgeon and let them evaluate you.

Ronald Levy, MD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Is there any research of the after effects of anesthesia? I find many others
complaining of memory/cognitive problems after general anesthesia.

Answer
Anesthesia can cause some amnesia related to the time of the anesthetic and the period immediately before and after (a good thing because people shouldn't remember potentially scary situations) but I am not aware of any research related to long term memory loss or cognitive problems from anesthesia.

Ronald Levy, MD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston