My husband had his surgical consult yesterday about the lump in the axilla. The MD was very positive. She felt that because it was caught early,it's mobile and the location that there was a high possibility for good results by removing the nodes there.
And even said there was a good possibility that it could be stopped there. Best news since that stupid lump was found.

But(I'm starting to feel with good news there is often a but...) he has to get medical clearance to make sure he is ok with anesthesia. He has been lucky enough to make it into his 60s without any surgeries where it was needed.
The surgery is around two hours.

I know a lot of folks here have had surgery and I was wondering what their experience was with general anesthesia. I'm assuming that many of the surgeries required it,although maybe local is more common?

The other option would be radiation under the arm but Dave would prefer the surgery if it is a possibility.

Just wondering what folks think about general anesthesia, their experiences,etc. Thanks.

Hi. John had never had any surgeries or procedures done before his diagnosis. He wasn't on any medications for anything either. The day of his surgery they had to use general anesthia because they did a neck disection, tons of scoping and took some tissue samples and a small piece of the tumor. I was more nervous about him undering general anesthia then he was. He went in through SPU (short procedure unit/same day surgery) but they kept him in Step-Down (monitored unit) because he had a drain coming out of his neck and they just wanted to make sure his throat and airway didn't swell to much. They also kept him on a heart monitor. It was probably about 6 hours from the time I kissed him good-bye until I saw him in his room. They wouldn't let me into recovery to see him because it was very crowded in there that day and it took them a while to "wake him up". Once he was awake he was fine. He has no allergies to any meds.

Susan, last year they put me under more times than I can count! With the modern stuff - in my case Propofol, though I've also had Versed - it's quick and easy. You're out, you're awake and within a very short period you're completely alert again. I can't speak to the medical decision about whether to go with surgery or radiation - that's for you and your doctors. But unless he's specifically allergic to one of the knockout meds I wouldn't worry about it!

D2

If it were me the choice between radiation and surgery would be totally dependent on the outcome probabilities. In other words, which will yield the highest level of success or survival.

The risk and benefit of each method must also be considered.

I am assuming that you have a medical team and have opinions from both the surgeon and the radiation oncologist. A consensus would be very beneficial.

We are completely open to the recommendation of his team. They have been very open,thoughtful and on the case since Dave started with them.
At this point, if he passes medical clearance they are recommending surgery.My concern isn't whether he should do it but to learn more about the anesthesia and it's effects.

We now know more about radiation than we ever wanted to but the surgery is new to us. (He didn't have surgery on his nodes on his neck so we are entering new territory).


I appreciate people sharing their experiences with us. It's helpful to know what to expect and often from getting info here we are more prepared with our questions.

Hey Susan, my family and I have a very low tolerance for medication. The first time I had anesthesia I woke up very very nausea. Most everyone in my family has the same side effect. Now I ask the dr's to give me anti- nausea meds before I go under. I can't think of the name of the med they give me but if it does hit me I will let you know. A lot of people have this same side effect. My sister just underwent a 9 hour surgery and woke up fine. The dr's give you all these possible side effects and scare you but usually none of them happen. Please keep us posted on what you decide to do.

Susan,

A few months prior to being diagnosed with OC, I had some female surgery that lasted about 3 hours. The worst part was that I had to wait a few months before the doctor could do the procedure so during this time I did a lot of research on the surgical procedure and all the risks of anesthesia. Needless to say I had myself totally stressed out for weeks before the surgery. I made sure my will was updated, my finances were in order, and that my husband knew where the check books were! This was the first time I had general anesthesia.

A lot of worry for nothing. They gave me some anxiety medication when I got to the hospital along with some anti-nausea medication. I did successfully wake up from that surgery, and from the three other OC surgeries done under general anesthesia since. I was groggy for a while right after surgery, but by the time they took me to my room I was wide awake. The only after effect I had was a dull headache for a day or two afterwards.

In each case I had to be cleared for anesthesia via a physical and met with the anesthesiologist staff before the surgery to review any medications I was on that could interact with the anesthesia. The other big thing was that you could not have anything to eat or drink after midnight regardless if your surgery was at 8AM or 3PM. The first time I did ask them a lot of �dumb� questions.

Of course this was my experience and as with any medical treatment each individual could have a different reaction.

I had surgery before I had my radiation and chemotherapy. No problem at all with the anesthesia, or with the surgery for that matter. In fact, compared with the radiation and chemo, surgery was a piece of cake!

Thanks so much for the replies here. I realize that I'm a bit of a victim of my age here. Years ago, there were so many horror stories about general anesthesia. I had to be reminded how much things have changed.
I'm glad the surgeon is being cautious and getting him cleared but I guess that made me a bit nervous too.
It is a good reminder too, when I read about all the types of surgeries here people have gone through.
My husband would rather have the surgery than radiation again. Even though everyone says this type is much easier,I think he'd be happy to not hear that word again!!!