Expert: Ronald Levy, M.D. - 7/6/2011

Question
A friend of mine has to have surgery because she needs a complete hip replacement. She has had two previous allergic reactions to anesthesia. She needs an alternative to general anesthesia. they have told her she cannot have an epidural. She is in extreme pain. She recently tried to take her life due to pain and feeling she had no way of resolving her physical discomfort because of her previous problems with anesthesia. Please respond what can be done.

Answer
First you need to determine what you mean by "allergic". There is no such thing as allergic to anesthesia. She may be allergic to one or another specific drug but we have many options for anesthesia and I strongly doubt she is allergic to all of them. She should see the anesthesiologist prior to surgery and to bring her previous OR records and anesthesia records with her. If she is not a candidate for regional anesthesia, the only other option is general anesthesia and the anesthesiologist will have to determine which drugs are appropriate.

Ronald Levy, MD
Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston