Expert: JM Starkman, MD - 8/16/2009

Question
I had a hysterectomy last week and asked that I use an ipod during surgery to calm me. I got the idea from a manual in the office while visiting the anesthesiologist for pre-surgery clearance. When I mentioned it to the anesthesiologist he gave me the strange look that you described in a previous response. However, after a surgery of less than an hour, it took 6 hours for me to regain full consciousness and reach a pulse rate that would allow me to leave recovery. When my family asked the anesthesiologist to see me after so many hours of "coma" he said, if she's well enough to play with an ipod (which was on my lap) then she's okay. I and my family were very hurt and shocked by his behavior. What should we do? I could have really been in some major distress but his response was unprofessional at best. Did I have too much medication or what? This has never happened to me before.

Answer
Given the miniscule amount of information provided, there really is not much I can do to determine what might have caused your delay in discharge from the recovery area or surgery center.  Discharge criteria from either, however, is based on two types of evaluations:

1.  Objective criteria:  normal, measureable cardiac, respiratory and central nervous system function;   for example a blood pressure and pulse within normal limits.  It sounds like your discharge was appropriately delayed until this (these) were normal.

2. Subjective criteria: normal acting, reacting, appearing, talking patient.  Being awake, alert and coordinated enough to use an ipod could easily be considered to fulfill such a standard.

There's nothing to do now------------except recover from your surgery--follow your surgeon's post-op instructions explicitly.