Laparoscopy whilst awake?

[Bubble_by]

Hello everyone,

I've been doing a bit of reading on laparoscopies and have found that some doctors can perform them under local or spinal anasethic rather than a general one.

This idea appeals more to me as I've never had any invasive surgery and I'm asthmatic.

Obviously it will be at the anaesthetics discretion but I was wondering if anyone else had their laparoscopy done whilst they were awake?

[luthien]

I've not had the local / spinal, I had general so hopefully someone can help with that side of things.

I guess it depends on what your specialists / surgeons reasons are as they usually discuss options with the anaesthetist managing you.

There are pros and cons for both. If you're happy with reading medical literature the following may help:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

It's also down to the hospital set up; they may prefer general and don't have enough of a team for local anaesthetic.

Bear in mind it could be a few hours of operating depending on what they find and do. And I'm not sure how long the spinal anaesthetic lasts - but I'd be worried about the risks of that too. Plus you wouldn't be able to move so if you had an itchy bit or cramp starting in say your neck then they can't do anything to help you / move you as the instruments are very precise. The weird tugging and pushing sensations and out of body experience makes some people dizzy and nauseous.

You won't be the only asthmatic whom has had a general anaesthetic so I'm sure the surgeons and anaesthetists know how to deal with that - general may make that easier as you won't need to worry about your breathing - a machine does that bit - hence the tube.

Yes spinal means quicker recovery but then anaesthetics even general are quick to recover from now. General means though that they can get you into positions easier for their surgery without you feeling awkward. The inflation of the abdomen is something that I'd feel weirded out by because reading up the local / spinal means you'll feel compression from your diaphragm upwards which could make you worried and probably won't help your breathing.

After saying all that I would suggest talking to your specialist and see what they decide. x