The horror of anesthesia awareness
The fear is palpable. You’re lying on the operating table unable to move a muscle or speak. Yet, you are aware of everything going on around you as the surgeon deftly cuts through skin, muscle, sinew and bone. The pain is excruciating, the trauma unimaginable. For most people, this is the point they awaken from a 3 a.m. nightmare, sweating and screaming. But for approximately 20,000 to 40,000 patients per