Staying awake during surgery. Am I nuts?
 

I splintered a bone in my foot New Years day and have to have surgery on it tomorrow to pin it back together. The Dr. told me that rather than getting knocked out, she could do a local on it which would save me some money. It just means a lot of needle sticks. My question is, has anyone else ever had surgery on just a local? Was it horrible?

I was pretty brave when I made the decision and now that I am less than 24 hours away, I am wondering if I made the right decision.

Oh my, you are brave...........

More people die going under than the operation itself.

pins? don't go with local... get fully knocked out.... that pain is so deep locals won't do enough

you are brave, very brave. I hope you like the sound of hamering and drilling in your foot.

I've done it, I even watched. Its not that bad. If you don't like blood though, don't watch, but all you are going to feel is pressure, no pain.

sugar you will be fine! Now shouldn't you be laying in bed resting!

I give you all the credit in the world. You def are one brave bitch!

Lots of luck tomorrow sister!

I had oral surgery (removal of 4 wisdom teeth) and choose local versus general. I saved about 50% of the cost. It was painful for the needles only, one tooth needed 11 shots until it became numb. The other teeth just 2 each. The needles were bad, but after 2-3 you get used to it.

The other thing that bothered me was the smell of the blood and the cracking of the teeth. It sounds scary, but honestly, if you can take a few needles, go for it. You won't feel groggy for 1-2 days either. Once the surgery is done, take 2 T3's and the next day I was up and recovered.
WG

only needles at dentists in Holland

BRAVE , VERY Brave:thumbsup:thumbsup I would'nt want to be awake for it :(

I was awake for my last eye surgery. Now that was a trip.

Ohh, this other time I did have an operation on my toe and was with local as well. Needed 4-5 shots before it went numb. It did feel weird because i could somewhat feel something. Then i made the mistake of looking and i almost freaked out. So if you go with local, don't ever look until the operation is done or you'll probably pass out.
WG

You can do it Hone :)
I had a finger stitched while awake, granted it was small.
I've had teeth busted out/removed like Wiredguy mentioned too.. and some others removed under general and it was worse for me! Not only was there the 24 hours of no food or drink ahead of time, but then I roused partly during it.. and I awakened while a petite nurse was walking me to the recovery area.. almost floored us both.. then I had a bad reaction to the general.

I had a stent put in my heart artery under local.. Thats how they do it.. local in the groin (after a dude shaved my pudes, haha) they go in the artery with a fucking coat hanger into the chest cavity and blah blah blah nobody cares about the details..

But you can do it! It may be fascinating to watch them work as well. My main complaint was i couldnt see the monitors that the doctors were using without turning my head. Obviously a personal thing though.. I figured hell I cant move anyway might as well watch.

Don't watch. Have them put up a curtain like they do for c-sections.

Yup, I agree:thumbsup

Ok, that made me whoozy just reading it. :Oh crap

I think I am going to wear a blindfold and my MP3 player so I don't hear or see anything. I pass out at the sight of blood so I may be out for the surgery anyway, lol

you're gonna be just fine, don't worry, just look away, at least I'd do

It'll be so numb you wont even know it, honest. :)
They'll make sure of it way ahead of time.

that is exactly what i was going to suggest HoneBear. crank that music loud so you don't hear a thing or it will haunt you forever. you will be absolutely fine i promise. my thoughts and prayers will be with you tomorrow.

I am getting an ernia removed on the 12th and doing a local surgery... Can't wait ;-) I will bring a camera and ask if I can film it.

my father said something similar when he was awake getting a bone graft from his hip inserted into a hollow in his foot. he said it was interesting to watch. he is a doctor himself, so i am sure his statement is purely subjective :)

I did that a couple times.

isn't it normal to do locals for smaller operations? I would never watch though, luckily I was on my tummy when they stiched together my left achilles tendon. Hate needles though but needed only one in my back...

same here :/ if it's one place I'd like to disappear for a while it's with those scary folks

It's normal procedure to always try to do it with locals so the patient's condition is easier to determine. So it's a better option all around when possible. :)

You'll certainly feel it. But I think you took the better option. See if you can read a book or play a gameboy thingy or something like that during the op.

I couldn't do it... :party-smi

Rambo and Patrick Swayze don't even need local.. you'll be just fine :)

That's what I have heard.

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh But, they are MEN:helpme

damn you scared me, I thought you had a surgery in general anesthesia and stayed awake

i'm having surgery in a few weeks and that's one of my nightmares

omg. You and my husband. He wants to video my surgery. Ewwww

btw, I will be thinking about you on the 12th

a new twist to foot fetish ?:helpme

You are far braver than me :(, no way I would do it with a local..... they can knock me the hell out! I wouldn't want to know anything untill after it was all done. I'm glad it was never an option when I broke my knee and had to have pins and plates put in :upsidedow
I hope it all goes well for you and that the local is plenty strong, definitely take the MP3 player and a blinfold. Best of luck tomorrow :thumbsup

Go for local,really....strange stories about total anesthesia

I am pretty sure mine was a much more intense type of surgery.

Wisdom teeth ain't that bad, no need to get knocked out for that :)

Oomphf. I cannot imagine having a broken knee. That had to suck.

A local is gonna have to suffice for me especially since I have to stay up and work all night tomorrow. If I went under there would be no way. I too hope the local is strong and doesn't wear off too soon so I can skip the groggy pain pills as long as possible.

Thanks for the well wishes! :)

I did it the same way as you. The surgeon had trouble because the roots of my teeth curled into hooks. They didn't see it in the X-rays. So he had to keep breaking my teeth into smaller and smaller pieces until he could get it all out. It was no fun. Took him a lot longer than he expected and he said my teeth were some of the most difficult he's ever had to pull out. It was no picnic for me either.