Expert: Dr Ian Jackson - please note UK based - 6/8/2006

Question
Hi, I live in Canada.  I was under general 2 years ago to remove a cyst in day surgery.  I woke up as soon as they took the needle out and had almost no effects from it. (other women that came out from the surgery didn't wakr up for at least an hour)  My question is..I am going infor rhinoplasty and wonder if the same thing will happen..I don't want to "wake up" during.  Why do you think this happened to me?

Answer
Hi Tara
From what you have written I am assuming you woke up after the operation when they were removing the intravenous needle from your arm/hand. We do not tend to remove these needles until quite a while after the operation has finished. This is because we may need to give other drugs during what is termed the 'recovery period' following an anaesthetic.
Everyone reacts differently to anaesthetics and recover differently. It is a bit like alcohol - some people get hang-overs and take ages to feel better while other lucky people seem to just carry on as normal. It is all part of natural variation. You are probably one of the lucky ones when it comes to anaesthesia and wake up quickly after the anaesthetic has been turned off.
You do not need to worry about waking up during the operation but you should tell your anaesthetist about your concerns.
Two further points
- there are large differences between the type and depth of anaesthesia that we have to use for different operations, this can also make a difference to your recovery and
- there are major differences between anaesthetists (bit like chefs!) and some can give you an anaesthetic and make you wake up feeling fresh while others I'm afraid just can't. So there is variation there too.
All the best
I'm sure you will do fine
Dr Ian Jackson