wow and I just had surgery....but mine was standard and all went well....I only got about 1/2 the article read....

since I started Nursing School in 2002 I know about the field of Nurse Anesthetist and how they need special training and are much higher in pay scales than a standard nurse....but I thought nothing of being alone with just a nurse anesthetist and no anesthesiologist in the OR for any of my previous surgeries....

it does make you think...

This has been a common practice for a very long time and it depends on what type of procedure your having, how long the Anesthesia will be, how long the patient will be under, etc. as to whether the Anesthesia Dr. stays in the O.R. the whole time. For short procedures like an Endoscopy, it's not unusual for a Nurse Anesthetist to take over.

People sign consent forms agreeing to this type of treatment every time they have a procedure...they just never bother to read them. They also meet with each Dr. on the Surgical Team (or should) and have the opportunity to ask any question about their procedure.....patients need to be more diligent in their own surgical healthcare.

Always, always, always ask questions....

Hi OldCPer,

You kind of proved the point of the article by pointing out some things to watch for, however.....

"People sign consent forms agreeing to this type of treatment every time they have a procedure...they just never bother to read them." Very true, but how many people with no medical background have a clue what these forms mean? Nobody, they are written by. and for, lawyers, and the patient is usually given no time to read them even if they could understand them. Need to take your lawyer with you for even minor procedures. Checking into a hospital is even more overwhelming for the patient, and extremely risky.

"They also meet with each Dr. on the Surgical Team (or should) and have the opportunity to ask any question about their procedure.....patients need to be more diligent in their own surgical healthcare."

Again, same as above comment. A person is usually in a hospital bed, wired and drugged-up by the time the doctor shows-up. The doctor is in a hurry, the patient just wants it over with, and has almost no clue as to what to ask about anyway. And it's the specific issue addressed in the article, what difference does it make? They are going to do their standard procedures unless the patient really reads them the riot act.

Every time a person goes into a medical facility, they are at risk of serious complications, and sadly, even death from some unrelated cause; medical mistake, MRSA and other similar infections, etc.

I"ve had 30 operations, (major operations, not procedures) in the last 17 years. I've always had plenty of time to read and sign my paperwork, as it's done in Pre-op appointments, days before the actual Surgery. I also always have plenty of time to ask my Surgeon questions in my Pre-op appoinment with the Surgeon which is usually at least a week before the Surgery. Yes I do have a background in both medicine and law, but it doesn't matter. I've never felt rushed to sign something I've not had time to read. I've never not been given time to meet with my Surgeon to ask questions. The questions I need to ask, I think of way in advance and write down, so I don't forget to ask them at the time of the appt.

The only Dr. I meet on the day of Surgery is the Anesthetist, and once again, I have my "list" of questions that I've thought of beforehand, written down to ask. If I don't get answers that satisfy me, then I don't have the Surgery it's that simple....its not like they can tie you to the bed and force you to. And the meeting with the Anesthetist always happens before you've been given any type of sedating medication, its Law, you have to be 100% clear when discussing your surgery with a physician you've not met before. Its also the time when your Surgeon comes in with a black sharpy and starts writing on the part of your body their going to be operating on.

The only times those Rules or procedures have been different were in life threatening/emergent situations, I had 4 of those, and still had no issues.

Yes, I have a lot more experience in this area than most people. But everyone having an operation should follow the same basic rules:
Write your questions down, make sure you have your pre-op appt with your Surgeon and ask your questions.
At your pre-op Admin appt with the hosp. if you don't understand the paperwork there is a Hospital Patient Liaison available to help explain them for every single person, use that resource.
When you meet your Anesthetist in the pre-op room, ask your written down questions, and make sure you understand the answers.
No question is too silly, ask any and all questions.

All hospitals have the same basic system for Pre and Post Surgery...so the same basic Q&A systems should work for anyone. A person can claim ignorance all they want, but thats just making excuses. If you don't use your patient rights, that's not on the Dr.'s or the Hospital.

This story sounds like a procedure go wrong. Unfortunately, this happens all the time and the only thing that anesthesia did wrong imo was maybe to have the MD close by because the pt was high risk due to her weight. Honestly, I have never seen a single dose of Zofran prolong QT to such extents. I am not saying it never happens, but I gave Zofran a million times and never had any issues.
I think the Propofol causes the patient to go into respiratory arrest and she was a difficult intonation due to her size.
C-RNA does not require to be monitored by an anesthesiologist in any state if he/she has training and is certified.
Traumatic intubation happen and nobody wants it to happen. I have been in these situations.... Some people have heart attacks from unoxia because they are hard to intubate..
It is really hard../
In hospitals nobody wants things like this to happens because doctors can lose privileges to practice there and every complications costs the hospital a ton of money, nevermind the ethical aspect of patient harm.
I feel badly for what happened to this lady, but I am not sure there is a case of negligence here

Disgusting. In US we pay twice what everyone else in the modern world pays for each procedure at least we could get extra reassurance and safety for our expenditure. Instead the money goes in someone's pocket for-profit.

I am reminded of the writings of Prof Barbara Starfield MD on the failings of US medicine.

An anaesthesiologist should stay with the patient during procedure, totally inappropriate for a nurse to supervise. Would have thought that was obvious.

CRNA is not a regular nurse. It is a master's degree program like NP. NPs do not require supervision by a doctor. They can even open their own practices.

Still inappropriate Aronia.
MDs should supervise operations.
MAs should supervise recovery or preparation.

Especially given US level of financial charge.

What exactly are we paying for?

PROFIT???

I think it's great how hard you work Aronia despite your disability. And I have to step away from the Internet to manage my illness.

Take care of yourself.

I am sorry, I don't mean to come off argumentative, but it bothers me to no end when reporters who have no idea what they are talking about write articles that piss off and scare poor patients who are already struggling !
This woman was NOT having surgery.
She had an endoscopy.
They don't even use anesthesiologists for this procedure in most places because it is done under conscious sedation not " general anethsthesia".
The woman likely received too much Propofol or had an adverse reaction and it could have happened to ANYONE. It is a rare side effect, impossible to predict sometimes. Nurses cannot push Propofol, this is why they had Nurse Anesthesist come in and it was proper and appropriate.
Difficult intubation a happen all the time, again - nothing you can predict. It can happen to any patient any time.
The jury will decide if anyone has done anything wrong. If every conscious sedation required anesthesia Doctor, none of us would be able to afford it.
Judging from what I read, I don't see any negligence. I used to sedate people all the time. All you need is an MD who can intubate and most MDs are required to know how to do that, even GI specialists doing the procedure.
When we go to the dentist and they give you gas, we don't expect anesthesiology to be present. This case is of comparison.