I am curious as to the long term effects of multiple surgeries. I have had six surgeries on my shoulder since March 2007 relating to a elective operation and a resulting staph infection. I also had a picc line for IV antibiotics. Since this time, I have not felt like myself. My head seems foggy at times, I lose focus more easily, I have headaches, my memory is not what it used to be, and I just am not as mentally tough as I was before, along with stomach issues and getting sick more easily. Could this be related to having undergone general anesthesia so much in such a short time? 

Your question has been asked several times before. In summary, there is some evidence, that in some individuals, particularly older people, general anesthesia - single or multiple episodes - can result in some degree of long term cognitive (brain) dysfunction. What is "some"? In the studies that we've seen, about 10% of older adults have persistent problems for more than 6 weeks or so. 

Many authorities are not convinced that this problem results from general anesthesia, believing instead that these features result from the trauma of surgery, the accompanying medical treatment, and the effects of illnesses underlying the need to have surgery. We cannot persuade people to volunteer to have surgery without anesthesia, so we can't provide a "control group" to test the hypothesis that anesthesia is responsible for these complaints, and it is difficult to know the answer to your question. 

My sister has had nearly 100 surgeries over last 25 years. In the past several years it is probably very close to one surgery a month. She seems to choose surgery before any other alternatives. What are the possible repercussions of so much surgery under general anesthesia? She`s having another surgery tomorrow and had one two weeks ago. Mostly feet, but now she wants back surgery. She also takes an abundance of medications.. pain, arthritis, restless leg, etc. 

ﾠOne hundred surgeries must be close to a record of some sort! You have not stated what the surgeries were, or what they were for, but you seem to imply that not all of them were really necessary. You may have heard of an illness called Munchausen Syndrome, in which affected persons very deliberately seek medical treatment, including surgeries, without having the need for those treatments or surgeries. They may even fake the symptoms of various diseases and conditions. I do wonder whether your sister is suffering from something of this kind but that is of course just a wild speculation. 

Until very recently there was very little clinical or laboratory evidence to suggest that anesthetics have any long term effects. It is now shown, at least in the laboratory, that anesthetics can have more than transient effects on brain cells and on the immune system. Nobody can confidently say whether the effects on people who have had many anesthetics are significant. And this is a hard question to answer because nobody is volunteering to have surgery without anesthesia! There certainly is now an increased degree of concern about the possible effects of anesthetics on the elderly, and very young children. This is supported by studies in older rats and other animal models in which some cells undergo apoptosis, or "programmed cell death". 

It would be nice if we could just avoid general anesthesia. Unfortunately it appears that the incidence of one possible manifestation of anesthetic-induced damage - postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) - is no different when general anesthesia is substituted by regional anesthesia (nerve block). 

Finally, let's not forget that every surgery (and especially repeat surgeries) has potential surgical complications which are likely to far outweigh the risk of anesthetic effects or accidents. 

I am a 16 year old female. I was born with congenital open angled glaucoma and also congenital cataracts. My cataracts were removed about 9 days after my brirth. Since then I have had over 30 surgeries and EUAs, most of them when I was younger. Even though I haven`t had one in over a few years, is it possible that all that excessive use of anesthesia could have some sort of long term psychological effects? Is it harmful to young children? 

I don't think anybody knows whether accumulated exposure to anesthetics can cause harm to the developing brain. This is one of the question you are asking. There are some recent studies in young rats showing prolonged damaging effects on the brain after several hours of anesthesia. This is a real source of concern to people in my profession but nobody knows whether these findings apply to humans. There are many examples of research findings in animals that do not at all apply to humans. The problem with human research in this area is that anesthesia is hardly ever given by itself but is almost always given to facilitate surgery. The "stress response" to surgery has been suggested as a possible mechanism for prolonged effects on mental function that seem to occur in the elderly after surgery. Perhaps this is true in children also but we simply don't know. The flip side is that even newborns and very young babies do experience pain during medical and surgical procedures. Without anesthesia even minor procedures can be very stressful, and harmful, to these young patients. As far as the psychological effects are concerned, there are of course likely to be effects on any child, in fact, any person, who has had as much surgery, and spent as much time in hospital as you have. Without being a psychologist myself I would say that how well, or badly, you deal with this much difficulty in your life will depend on some combination of your innate character, the support you have had from your family and friends, and on the quality of care you have had from your doctors and hospital. To say that you had an "excessive" amount of anesthesia is perhaps just an unfortunate choice of words. The anesthesia was necessary as you could not have had the benefit of restored or preserved sight (I hope) without it. 

My four year old daughter has had several surgeries and had been sedated six times in her young life. She now needs 10 dental fillings. Her dentist is a pediatric dentist and has experience in dealing with highly anxious children. Her dentist tried conscious sedation and she became sick and the procedure was unsuccessful. Her dentist wants to admit her to the hospital for general anesthesia. I am unsure what is best for her. Should I insist on trying conscious sedation again? Is conscious sedation safer than general anesthesia? Is it harmful to go under general anesthesia so many times in her young life? She has not had any problems with general anesthesia in the past. Which would be less harmful to her body? She has rods in her spine, a bicuspid valve defect, has had a fundopyloroplasty, has had choanal atresia repair on her right sinus, tubes in her ears, her adenoids removed. She has been in very good health this past year. Thank you in advance for any response. 

Your daughter has a number of significant medical problems so it sounds like a wise decision to have the dental procedure done in hospital under general anesthesia. In the hands of competent practitioners this is safe enough to satisfy a concerned parent. A fully equipped and staffed hospital is a far better setting than a dentist's office in which to conduct a relatively lengthy procedure of this sort. 

I had a hysterectomy in January and I am going to have a bartholin cyst removed on August 8th. Is it dangerous to be put under that soon. Last time they said that i was shaking uncontrollably. I am scared and I would like your opinion. Thanks 

ﾠEight months is certainly a long enough period within which to recover from surgery and anesthesia. Anesthetic drugs are almost completely cleared from your body within 24 - 48 hours. Assuming that your general health has not changed there would be no added risk to you from having another anesthetic. Shaking or shivering after anesthesia is not uncommon. It is usually short-lived, and can be treated (and often prevented) with body temperature maintenance techniques and different drugs such as demerol (meperidine) and clonidine. Remember to tell your anesthesiologist about this and any other previous anesthetic problems so that appropriate preventive or treatment measures can be taken. 

I had a hysterectomy 1-12-1999 and now the Dr. wants me to have a bartholin cyst removed. I am afraid to be put under again so soon. Please let me know if it is too soon. Also, what are the side affects of anesthesia? 

ﾠThere is usually no additional risk associated with having a second anesthetic, even if it is days (or even hours) after the original procedure. Most anesthetic medications are cleared from the body within 24 to 48 hours. The most common side-effects of general anesthesia include nausea or vomiting, sore throat, and drowsiness. These symptoms do not usually persist. Some of the other potential problems are discussed elsewhere on this site. 

Is it okay to be sedated 2 times with this anesthesia within one month? 

ﾠThere is usually no reason to worry about receiving "twilight sedation" - also known as moderate sedation - twice in one month. There is a fair range of responses to anesthetic drugs, dependent on age, general condition, genetics, interaction with other medicines, and other factors. Despite these factors, modern anesthetic drugs are rapidly broken down by the body and excreted and recovery is usually rapid. 

I am scheduled for two consecutive days of procedures, both requiring "conscious sedation". The first is a colonoscopy, and day two is a hysteroscopy, D & C and endometrial ablation (at our local hospital, but outpatient.) The gyn is aware of this schedule and is not concerned. Should I reconsider this schedule? If it`s safe I`d like to keep both appointments. 

whataquestion 

It's a pity you can't have both procedures on the same day, in the same facility, with the same anesthetic. This would be more convenient for you and probably less costly. 

I don't think there is a safetyﾠissue however. Assuming you are an otherwiseﾠhealthy person, having two procedures on successive days should not be a significant problem. Both the planned procedures are relatively minor and you would be expected to recover fairly quickly if modern anesthetic drugs are used by skilled practitioners. Don't forget to tell your anesthesiologist (or other anesthesia provider) who is taking care of you for the GYN procedure that you had the colonoscopy the day before and how it went. 

Good luck and let's hope you don't need any more procedures the rest of the week!