What Is Anaesthetic Awareness?

While surgery is an anxiety-inducing experience for many, more often than not routine procedures go to plan.

It’s the anaesthetist’s job to continuously monitor the patient during surgery, to ensure that they’re receiving the right amount of anaesthetic to keep them unconscious but not too much that they experience negative side effects.

However, although rare, mistakes and complications can occur in surgery, including anaesthetic awareness. 

So, what is anaesthetic awareness?

In short, anaesthetic awareness or unintended awareness is a rare complication of surgery where the patient becomes aware of their surroundings whilst under general anaesthetic and can recall experiences of the event. 

As anaesthetic awareness occurs in 1 in 20,000 general anaesthetics, it’s crucial for your anaesthetist to discuss the risks with you before your operation and you must give informed consent. 

Due to the nature of this rare complication, anaesthetic awareness can result in long-lasting psychological trauma. 

If you’ve experienced anaesthetic awareness, you could be entitled to make an anaesthetic awareness claim and should seek legal advice to determine the next steps.

Types Of Anaesthesia Awareness 

There are numerous types of anaesthesia awareness that occur for multiple reasons.

These include, but are not limited to:

• The sedative doesn’t work – When the sedative doesn’t work or wears off, the patient may be wide awake, but the muscle relaxing drug prevents them from alerting anyone of the problem. 
• The muscle relaxing drug doesn’t work – Although this isn’t strictly a type of anaesthesia awareness as the patient is unaware of the situation, this results in movement during surgery. 
• The sedative and muscle relaxing drug do not work – In this circumstance, the patient is both conscious and able to move, which can result in the patient sitting up or trying to speak. 
• Reduced anaesthesia – Certain operations, such as C-Sections, can’t have full general anaesthesia, causing some patients to have some awareness.
• Equipment failure –  If the equipment that’s delivering anaesthetic to the patient malfunctions, it can take the anaesthetist a few minutes to understand what’s going on, during which time the patient can become aware. 

Awareness During Anaesthesia: Intraoperative Experiences

Awareness during anaesthesia can result in multiple intraoperative experiences of varying severity. 

These experiences include, but are not limited to:

1. Conversations between the surgery staff 
2. Dream-like events 
3. Paralysis and anxiety 
4. Pain 
5. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

1. Conversations Between The Surgery Staff 

Patients who experience awareness during anaesthesia can recall conversations between the surgery staff.

Depending on the level of anaesthetic awareness, this can be muffled sounds.

Other studies have found that patients have reported hearing full conversations without feeling anything else. 

2. Dream-Like Events 

Some patients who experience anaesthetic awareness might experience dream-like events.

Dream-like events can feel surreal. However, they shouldn’t be confused with actual dreams that occur during or after the surgery. 

This comes down to the fact that dreaming is common under anaesthetic.

One study found that ‘six patients (12%) reported anaesthetic dreaming’. This is where the confusion can come into play. 

It’s also normal for patients to have awareness of the beginning as well as after the procedure. 

3. Paralysis & Anxiety 

Paralysis can occur if the sedative doesn’t work or has worn off sooner than it should have whilst the patient is in surgery.

Paralysis can be incredibly traumatic and anxiety-inducing, as the muscle-relaxing drugs prevent the patient from being able to alert the staff of the problem in question. 

If you’ve woken up during an operation, you could be entitled to anaesthetic awareness compensation.

That said, it’s best to seek legal advice from a clinical negligence solicitor to find out the next steps. 

4. Pain 

While the majority of patients won’t experience pain under anaesthetic, this can occur in rare circumstances. 

As oftentimes the patient is unable to react or voice that they can feel pain, this can be a highly traumatic experience for the patient.

This can lead to a feeling of helplessness that can significantly worsen the experience of anaesthetic awareness and can result in the patient becoming reluctant to consent to treatment for future surgeries.

5. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

In severe cases of anaesthetic awareness, long-term psychological problems can occur, including specific phobia disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Patients with PTSD from anaesthetic awareness might experience everything from nightmares to sleep disorders.

Some patients might even avoid medical care in the future to avoid experiencing the traumatic event again. 

Are You Eligible To Make An Anaesthetic Awareness Claim?

If you have woken up before a medical procedure has finished then it may be because of a mistake with the administration of the anaesthetic.

Our clinical negligence solicitors are well-versed in dealing with cases of anaesthetic awareness and can support you and your family through the investigation process. 

Get in touch with a member of our clinical negligence team to find out whether a claim is possible.