İrem Yılmaz
What is Anesthetic Awareness?
Think of it, you’re lying on an operation table, completely paralyzed, unable to speak with a fully awake mind and you’re not supposed to feel any pain whatsoever. But suddenly, you’re starting to hear the conversations around you and to feel the pain you’re not supposed to feel. You want to say something and scream but you can’t even move a muscle. All your efforts are in vain. This horrible experience is called “anesthetic awareness.”
Anesthetic awareness means that one is being fully conscious of surroundings but completely paralyzed during general anesthesia. The anesthesia aims to both make the patient unconscious and make them not feel any pain. But sometimes it fails to shut some parts of the brain off like thalamus, hippocampus or amygdala.
What Happens in the Brain
The thalamus is responsible for processing sensory signals, the hippocampus is involved in memory formation and the amygdala regulates emotion. During this experience, all of those areas remain active and when they are active, the patient might perceive pain or hear conversations. You might not have heard of this, and the reason behind it is probably the prevalence. It’s very rare and studies show that it happens to approximately only one or two patients out of 1,000. Moreover, it’s hard to detect as patients often look unconscious during and after the procedure. As a consequence, this experience may be perceived as a dream by the patient.
Psychological Effects
Some patients report clearly remembering the staff talking or even trying to speak but being unable to. These feelings of immobility and mutism generally can resemble the feelings of drowning and fear of death, so the person might develop anxiety disorders afterwards as a response to the trauma. There might be nightmares, perceptual confusions such as questioning whether it was real or a dream, and derealization, which is the feeling of losing touch with reality.
Coping and Support
Furthermore, the person can face some serious psychological disorders after the procedure. To reduce anxiety, it’s always the best to discuss surgery options with your doctor beforehand. And if anesthetic awareness occurs, seeking psychological support can help cope with the trauma.
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