Expert: Ronald Levy, M.D. - 11/22/2007

Question
My friend recently had a double mastectomy and bilateral reconstruction, and her surgery lasted 18 hours. She is hearing things now that suggest that the number of hours one spends under anesthetic determines the length of time required to get feeling mentally back to normal. Can you comment? Thank you.

Answer
There is no direct correlation between length of surgery and return of normality. It is probably more related to the extent of surgery, the underlying disease and the patients underlying medical condition. I have not heard or read about anything correlating anesthetic time and mental function.

Ronald Levy, MD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston