Geberal anaesthetic

[claymore]

How dangerous is it to go under a general anaesthetic for an operation? The reason I ask is that a few years ago my mum went into hospital for an operation and died under anaesthetic. the explanation was that these things happen from time to time. Three years previously my wifes best friends mother also died while undergoing a minor operation, in this case the anaesthetist was found to be negligent. My GP has told me that there is always a bit of a risk.

[Ethel]

With 'routine procedures' the general anaesthetic is far riskier than the operation itself.

There is always a risk with GA, especially as the person undergoing the operation may be in poor health. There is a risk of heart attack, stroke, brain damage and death, especially in the elderly, those with heart disease and other medical problems.

This should always be made clear to the patient before they consent to the surgery - often it is better to live with the original problem than to undergo surgery.

[SKA]

I was under when I was in primary school and I'm still alive!! OMG nobody told me I could have died then!!

[sqad617]

I know what Ethel means in her first paragraph, but it may be a hint misleading. In "routine proceedures" there is little or no risk, so the risk from General Anaesthesia, however small IS greater than the risk from the "routine proceedures"
There is always a small risk during GA and providing you have a competent Anaesthetist in a well run Unit then the risk is worth it after weighing the consequences of not having the operation. Today in the UK there wil be well in excess of 250.000 GA's and it is unlikely that there will be a fatalitiy.

[diecast]

Hello. Sorry to hear about your mum. You must be very anxious.

Your GP is right to say that a having an anaesthetic carries some risk.
How much or how little depends on your own state of health and the type of operation and anaesthetic that you are going to have - this may all be very different indeed to your mother's situation.
Without knowing the details it is impossible to be specific.

The very best people to answer your question are your Anaesthetist and your Surgeon. You should get to see them before the operation.

You may also be asked by the hospital (though not necessarily) to attend a pre-operative assessment clinic. This may also be a good opportunity to ask the question about risk.

For many people this risk can be considered "small". They may then decide that that it is OK to go ahead because the benefits they stand to gain from the operation are worth the risk. There are, after all, risks involved with many things we do - like driving in a car, flying in a plane, going swimming.

The best person to decide this is yourself.

In the meantime you may like to check out the website of the Royal College of Anaesthetists. This is the professional body responsible for anaesthesia in the United Kingdom.
If you go to the section under the heading "For Patients" you will find lots of very clearly written documents. These answer your question, and others, in more detail and with more authority than I have done here.

The most general one is "You and Your Anaesthetic":

http://www.rcoa.ac.uk/docs/yaya.pdf


This page talks about risk in more detail:

http://www.rcoa.ac.uk/index.asp?PageID=816