Patients often say that they have poor memory after surgery, such as "I recognize this person, but I don't know my name", "Don't remember to leave the side," "When you go out, remember to pick up" and so on.
There are patients who have undergone surgery twice in a few months, and even worry about "Will they be stupid with anesthesia?" Many people worry that anesthetics will make their memory worse. In fact, anesthetics will be excreted from the body within 24 hours. There is no evidence at this time. Prove that anesthetics will worsen memory and judgment.
Why do patients still feel "not as eye-catching as before" after the operation? The
author: Li Bilian, medical consultant and anesthesiologist specialist
There was a female patient in her 40s who underwent a semi-urgent medium-sized gynecological surgery, required general anesthesia, and stayed in the hospital for a week.
Because the wound is very painful after the operation, high-dose analgesics are needed.
About half a year later, she needed another knee endoscopic surgery. Before the operation, she pointed out that the postoperative memory of the gynecological operation had deteriorated. For example, "I knew well about him, but I was going to talk about it until he was called 咩名". Lasts one to two months.
She feels worried about the need to have another operation: "Will all this happen during the anesthesia session?" From her performance, she believes that her memory has deteriorated after the last operation, which has caused trouble in her life.
Knee endoscopic surgery is simpler and requires less anesthetic dose; it is less traumatic, the wound is thinner, and the dose of analgesics used is less.
The entire hospitalization and surgery process was easier than last time, and brought less stress and tension.
She was discharged from the hospital the next day after the operation, and her memory did not deteriorate afterwards.
High-dose analgesics and lack of rest after surgery affect the mental state
Many patients have said that their memory deteriorates after surgery. A large foreign study pointed out that 25% of patients over 60 who undergo major surgery experience deterioration in their judgment and memory in the first week after surgery, and in the first 3 months after surgery. It still falls to 10% of people who still have this condition, and it is very rare that it persists a year after the operation.
Anesthetics will be excreted from the body within 24 hours. There is no definite evidence to prove that anesthetics will worsen the judgment and memory after surgery.
This condition of the patient is believed to be related to the condition, age, complexity of the operation and length of stay in the hospital.
The entire operation and hospitalization process will make the patient feel nervous and stressed. If you want to settle at home and work, you must fast and do multiple tests before the operation; if you need to use high-dose analgesics after the operation, it will affect the mental state.
The physical condition is poor, and the rest is not good. There are many other things to worry about during the process. Personal concentration is related to the lack of concentration in other areas, which will make judgments poor.
Doctor Li Bilian
During the repair process, the body will have an inflammatory reaction, produce chemicals, and also have the opportunity to make judgment and memory worse.
Patients who are older, have cognitive impairment, or are frequently admitted to the hospital have a greater chance of having this phenomenon.
Accompany the family in the hospital to make the elders feel that they are recuperating in a familiar environment
In fact, patients say that their memory is poor, and they often refer to small things in life, important things they will not forget, and it is not a long-term sequelae.
To reduce the deterioration of judgment and memory after the operation, the patient should maintain a normal work and rest before the operation, maintain good communication with the doctor, understand the operation process, and reduce tension and stress.
For patients, especially the elderly, it is also helpful to be accompanied by family members during their stay in the hospital.
Families should bring the items commonly used by the elders, such as reading glasses and hearing aids; and let them feel that they are living in a familiar environment as usual, such as drinking regular tea.
Doctors will also try to minimize the impact of surgery and hospital admission on patients' lives. If minimally invasive surgery is used to make the wound smaller, less painkillers will be needed after the operation, and the patient can recover and be discharged sooner.
Many patients will also ask whether local anesthesia is better than general anesthesia, resulting in a lower risk of poor judgment and memory after surgery, because local anesthesia requires less anesthetics and does not "brain".
There is a large-scale study in foreign countries that there is no difference between the two on whether the memory of patients after surgery will deteriorate.
The doctor will make a decision based on the patient's condition, psychological condition and risk.
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