You can't run, you can't scream, luckily, you can't feel. Still, you have to watch...
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 (dramatic music)
00:05 (screaming)
00:09 At first, it's very bright.
00:12 But then, as your eyes adjust to the light,
00:15 you start to piece together your surroundings.
00:19 The moving blobs above you, you realize,
00:22 are masked faces.
00:24 And they've got their hands inside your body.
00:28 Okay, who f*cked up?
00:31 You can't run.
00:32 You can't scream.
00:34 Luckily, you can't feel.
00:36 But still, you have to watch.
00:39 This is WHAT IF,
00:41 and here's WHAT HAPPENS IF
00:43 you wake up during surgery.
00:46 The odds of you waking up during surgery
00:48 are about 1 in 19,000.
00:51 That may not sound like a lot,
00:52 but considering that doctors perform
00:54 over 130,000 inpatient surgeries daily
00:58 in the U.S. alone,
00:59 it's close to seven people every day.
01:02 When it does happen, it's usually painless,
01:05 and you're usually back under in about five minutes.
01:08 But that's not to say there haven't been some horror stories.
01:12 In a study of people who've experienced
01:13 anesthesia awareness,
01:15 18% reported feeling pain.
01:18 And some even developed post-traumatic symptoms,
01:21 like increased stress,
01:22 nightmares, and flashbacks.
01:25 So how can a routine operation go so terribly wrong?
01:29 And what happens when it does?
01:31 Before any surgery,
01:33 an anesthesiologist will review your medical history
01:36 and ask you about your habits and your lifestyle.
01:38 Everyone reacts differently to anesthetics,
01:40 so it's the anesthesiologist's job
01:43 to figure out a dose that will keep you unconscious
01:45 during surgery without inhibiting
01:47 any of your critical life functions.
01:50 As you're counting down,
01:51 getting heavier,
01:53 getting sleepier,
01:55 getting up soon?
01:56 (screaming)
01:58 What? Is it morning already?
02:01 Where am I?
02:03 (beeping)
02:05 (screaming)
02:06 Anesthesia alertness can play out in different ways.
02:09 It usually involves complications with the sedative,
02:12 the paralytic, or both.
02:14 If the paralytic wears off, but the sedative doesn't,
02:18 you'll remain unconscious,
02:19 but your body might still move.
02:21 Anesthetists are normally quick to pick up on this,
02:24 and will immediately fix the problem
02:26 by adding more paralytic agent.
02:28 Then there's the problem of both the sedative
02:30 and the paralytic wearing off.
02:32 This is also easy to catch
02:34 because the patient might try to speak or sit up.
02:37 But again, doctors will have you back under
02:39 in less than five minutes.
02:41 Perhaps the most traumatic outcome
02:43 is if the sedative wears off,
02:45 but the paralytic doesn't.
02:47 In this scenario,
02:48 you can wake up during surgery,
02:50 and you might even feel it.
02:51 But with the paralytic agent working as it's supposed to,
02:54 you can't communicate that you're awake.
02:57 While that scenario is particularly rare,
02:59 it's happened enough times to inspire one too many movie ideas.
03:03 But if you're scared it could happen to you,
03:05 there are ways to further reduce your risk of anesthesia alertness.
03:10 It's always important to have up-to-date medical records,
03:13 and to follow your doctor's instructions carefully before surgery.
03:17 For bonus points,
03:18 you can cut back on alcohol and tobacco,
03:20 since heavy drinking and smoking
03:22 can affect how your body responds to anesthetic drugs.
03:25 As long as you keep making healthy choices,
03:28 and don't let the movies scare you too much,
03:30 then your next surgery should go smoothly.
03:33 When you wake up at the right time,
03:35 you can thank your doctor.
03:37 And in your downtime,
03:38 you can thank What If.
03:40 That was What If,
03:48 and here's what will happen if you click like or subscribe.
03:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]
04:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]