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Medical Nightmare A young patient wakes up during her own surgery and can not move
The story is a nightmare that has come true: Canadian Donna Penner woke up during a tummy tuck and got everything from the use of the scalpel to the doctors' talks. A traumatic experience that could only be dealt with through psychotherapy. Now she has reported at the station "BBC" from the events.
Affected want to provide with their story for education
What Donna Penner experienced in 2008 is for many people one of the most gruesome things imaginable: The Canadian woke up from anesthesia during an operative laparoscopy - even before the surgeon had applied the scalpel. A nightmare of which the woman has now told the BBC station.
Hospital Horror: A Canadian woman woke up early from anesthesia and was fully conscious of her abdominal surgery. (Image: Tobilander / fotolia.com) So far, no problems with anesthesia
Donna was 44 when she went to a hospital in her home province of Manitoba in 2008 to undergo laparoscopy for heavy menstrual bleeding, the report said. She already had experience with anesthetics and knew that general anesthesia would be necessary for the upcoming investigation. In a laparoscopy, instead of a large abdominal incision, several small incisions are made in the abdominal wall, through which a special endoscope (laparoscope) and surgical instruments are inserted into the abdomen.
"I never had an anesthetic problem, but when we got to the hospital, I felt very anxious," the patient says. First of all, everything went perfectly smoothly - she was prepared for the operation, connected to the equipment and received an anesthetist's anesthetic via an intravenous drip. Then the doctor put a mask on Donna's face and said, "Take a deep breath." The patient did that and fell asleep.
Anesthesia ends before the preparation of the scalpel
But the anesthesia only lasted a moment - far too short, because the procedure had not even started. "When I woke up, I still heard the sounds in the operating room. I heard the staff knock and clatter and the machines ran. I thought, 'Oh well, it's over, it's done,' "says Donna. She had lain there and felt a bit battered, but at the same time had also been attentive and relaxed.
However, that changed a few seconds later when she heard the surgeon say, "Scalpel please." She froze and thought, "What have I just heard?" Donna continues. The attempt to become noticeable failed because it was immobilized by a muscle relaxant. This is not unusual, because such a drug is given before a stomach operation to set off the muscle tension in this area. "Unfortunately, the general anesthesia did not work, but the muscle relaxant already," said the patient.
Muscle relaxant ensures immobility
As a result, she had no chance to attract attention and was fully conscious when she realized that the first cut was made. "I have no words to describe the pain - it was awful," says Donna. She wanted to say something, to move - but could not. Even crying was not possible.
"I was in a state of sheer terror. I could hear them working on me, I could hear them speak. I felt the surgeon making those incisions and pushing those instruments through my stomach. "The surgery lasted for about an hour and a half, during which Donna experienced agony.
Because she was temporarily paralyzed, the doctors also intubated her and connected her to a respirator. This released air only seven times per minute - even though her heart rate was 148 beats per minute. "I smothered. It felt like my lungs were burning, "says the person concerned.
Patient experiences out-of-body experience
Realizing that Relaxan was slowing down, she moved her tongue over the breathing tube that was still in her throat. The anesthesiologist noticed it - but unfortunately was wrong in the assessment of the state of paralysis and removed too early the breathing tube. She could not breathe and felt like she was outside her body. "I was not on earth anymore. I knew I was somewhere else. It was quiet. The sounds of the operating room were in the background, I could still hear them. But it sounded like they were very, very far away, "says Donna. Fear and pain were gone and "instinctively I knew I was not alone," she continues.
Finally, the doctors brought her back to life by means of manual ventilation, and the anesthesiologist gave her a means of counteracting the paralysis. It was not long before she could speak again and tell of her agony. The anesthetist had cried when he spoke to her again later and apologized several times - but the pain remained. Immediately after the operation Donna started a therapy to process the experience.
At least 8,000 cases every year
The nightmare that Donna Penners had to experience first-hand is a rare case - but it happens again and again. According to a review article by Petra Bischoff and Ingrid Rundshagen, so-called intra-operative alertness (English: "Accidental Awareness") occurs at a rate of one to two cases per 1,000 anesthetics (0.1 to 0.2%). Based on an estimated 8 million anesthesia annually, 8,000 or 16,000 patients per year are affected by such a wake phenomenon. According to the BBC, forty percent of those affected would then suffer severe psychological damage.
"I want people to understand that this can and does happen. I want to raise awareness and perhaps get something out of this terrible experience, "explains Donna. (No)