Anaesthesia Awareness:- when pain speaks

  Anaesthesia Awareness

when pain speaks from eyes

Richa was working as a teacher in a primary school, she was very much passionate and happy go lucky girl. She had a loving husband (Abhinav) and a beautiful daughter (Anika). Everything was going smooth in her life before one miserable day. She was returning to her home after a hectic day, suddenly she felt some pain in her stomach.  Without wasting any time her husband took her to a good renowned  doctor. After diagnosis her, the doctor told them that there is a stone in her gallbladder. Which is very big and they have to remove the bladder. This news was so much disturbing for the couple but when doctor told them that this is a painless procedure as we will give her general anaesthesia so that she will be temporarily paralyze during that operation. Richa and abhinav(husband) decided to go through the operation as there was no other option left in front of them.

Richa took 1 month of leave for the surgery. She was very much worried about her daughter as she was so young but her husband was so strong and always support Richa in her day to day affairs. He always said “honey don’t worry everything would be ok”.

It was 2^nd February 2008, Richa was on operation table. A team of doctors came inside the OT. Some doctors were busy in discussing the case. An anaesthesiologist behind the mask came to her and gives her general anaesthesia and asked her to count from 1 to 100 as this is the procedure to observe the activity of the patient. She started counting and slowly felt that her body is being paralyzed. She closed her eyes by chanting hanumanchalisa. Bur something went wrong, her mind  was still  working and she was able to hear each and every word of doctors. She desperately wanted to scream or even move a finger to show the doctors that she was awake but the muscle relaxant dose she’d received resisted her movements.

The first incision was the worst (in terms of pain) for her. It was near her belly button. She wanted to scream hard but could not because of the breathing tube inside her mouth. The second incision was again so painful and fearful for her at the same time. Her blood pressure went out of control and heart  rate went so high. Suddenly her heart stopped from the shock. Fortunately, with an injection of adrenaline, her heart started to beat again. After it was all over she woke up remembering every horrible second of excruciating pain had gone through.

It was the worst experience of her life which was more terrifying than death. Doctor asked her about the level of pain she experienced and she answered: “It would be less if I was not awake during the surgery”.

Afterward she sued the hospital and was awarded 5 Lakhs, as compensation from the hospital. But this incident had shaken her soul so badly. She was in trauma for 2 years. Now she is fully recovered but don’t want to go to any hospital for any kind of checkup. The environment of hospital and doctors remind her that unbearable pain, she had suffered. This is not the only incidence. There are many people all over the world who suffered from this ignorance called “anaesthesia awareness” by the anaesthesiologist.

Anaesthesia awareness also known as unintended intra-operative awareness occurs when the anaesthesia given to a patient is inadequate to make them  unconscious during the operation. Anaesthesiologists are physicians who play a very important role in the whole surgery. Their job is to manage the anaesthesia, require by the body of the patient during the surgical procedure. They are also responsible to manage the patient’s breathing, blood pressure and heart rate and if there is any medical problem, during or after the surgery, they diagnose and treat those problems immediately.

                                                                           

Brain is active during anaesthesia awareness

 Anaesthesiologist’s ignorance can even take the life of the patient. Now a day, increasing number of anaesthesia awareness cases shows the lack of knowledge or we can say ignorance of some money making animals , which are least bothered about the life of patients  and attend patients carelessely.This message is for those careless doctors .... " Please wake and perform your responsibility honestly , otherwise many innocent patients will sleep forever."

                                                                       

When patient is asleep during operations.