Anethesia Awareness

Our goal is for your anesthesia experience to be both safe and comfortable. One fear that many patients commonly express is the possibility of "waking up" during their surgery or procedure. Very rarely a patient may become aware or conscious. The condition, called anesthesia awareness, means that a patient can recall the surroundings or an event related to the surgery while under general anesthesia. Although it can be upsetting, patients usually do not feel pain.

When it does occur, it usually just prior to the anesthetic completely taking effect or at the end of a procedure as a patient is emerging from anesthesia. It is also more common for it to occur in high-risk procedures such as trauma surgery, cardiac surgeries, and emergency cesarean delivery, or in extreme situations where it is unsafe to deliver a full dose of anesthesia in order to protect a patient's life.

It is important to distinguish awareness under general anesthesia from being aware during procedures done under sedation, "twilight anesthesia", or local or regional anesthesia such as a spinal, epidural, or a nerve block. With these types of anesthesia, it is expected that patients may have some recollection of the procedure.

If you have experienced awareness under general anesthesia or have additional concerns about it, it is important to bring it to the attention of your anesthesiologist prior to your procedure.