What Happens To Your Brain In Long Surgeries? Your Brain Changes

I had total shoulder replacement surgery in 2021. The surgical date had been put off due to COVID and I was in tremendous pain by the time it was rescheduled. When I was wheeled into the surgical suite, I was so afraid of everything; the surgery itself, getting COVID while inpatient, etc. I remember starting to become very weepy as I was laying on the table talking to the anesthesiologist and he was so kind when he saw a tear roll down my face; he wiped it away and reassured me before putting the gas mask over my nose. It was THE easiest surgery and recovery I've had (and I've had quite a few!). The compassion of the anesthesiologist and all the people in the operating room made all the difference.

Has anyone ever told you your the best Doctor that we have ever had well let me start it off you are the best and you don’t treat your patients like they have no brains at all God Bless You ❤❤

I had a TIA (mini stroke ) during rotator cuff surgery. I knew something was wrong when I couldn’t swallow on the way home from surgery. Went back the next day for follow up and my orthopedic surgeon had no idea what was going on. It wasn’t until three days later that I heard a celebrity talking on the radio about her mini stroke that I realized that was what must have happened to me. I demanded an appointment with a neurologist from my surgeon that day and he confirmed it. It all luckily resolved itself within about three months. You have to watch out for yourself.

I 100% agree that pre-surgery compassionate, reassuring talk with the patient can change the outcome of the experience. This should become the norm in every case. Plus I would love for the medical team to keep the talk positive during the surgery. Giving the patient positive reassurance by keeping the suggestions positive.

A super kind older nurse in OR calmed my fears and gave me a long hug before my total abdominal hysterectomy. I had a 9" incision hip to hip, but I healed so well. I think she had a lot to do with it. I will never forget her kindness and the time she took to calm me.

Thanks for doing this channel. I've had too many surgeries and I'm sure it hasn't done my brain any favors.

The more surgeries I have… I’ve found that I don’t remember a lot of things and my anxiety is very high. My first surgery was at age 29 my family have accepted that I lose/don’t remember where I’ve set down my cup of tea or other things, it’s just become a part of who I am now

I love listening to “Medical Why’s” that happen in different situations. I come from a Medical household, so I already know too much, even though that wasn’t my career of choice. I’ve had 3 surgeries with anesthesia. The longest one was a left Parotidectomy. I was under anesthesia for almost 9 hours. When my ENT pulled my face back to access the Parotid, he said that it had wrapped around the nerve hand in my face. So, a surgery that would typically be 3.5-4 hours took more than twice as long because he had to carefully move around it so he could remove it all. And he did. Because of his extreme caution, care and diligence, my face is still fully functional. Of course I’ll never feel my left ear again and have no external sensation on that cheek, but that’s expected. All of that to say, I ALWAYS wake up extremely ANGRY. After my Parotid surgery, they had to go into the waiting room and get my Mom so she could calm me down. (They knew she was an RN). I’m not an angry or violent person, very much the opposite, so I’ve never understood why I wake up like that. I guess that time since I was under for so long, it really took a toll on me. My last surgery was in an “Emergency” setting and while I was in pre-op waiting on my Dr to arrive (2am), they brought a guy in that was horribly injured in an accident. Although I couldn’t see him, I heard everything because he was in the next “curtain”… when I came out of my surgery, I was DEMANDING to see him. I was screaming his name out. I guess because hearing everything they were saying and he was in the OR when I went in, my compassion took over and I wanted to know how he was. I never saw him and all they said is “he’s going to be OK”. Wild 🤷‍♀️ (Sorry for writing you a term paper) LOL 😆

Ill be going for a liver transplant surgery on monday , will be donating my liver to my father who have cirrhosis I watch your videos everyday,watching your video made me understand the medical conditions very well and helped me alot to calm my anxiety for surgery.Thanks a lot doctor ❤️

Tysm. My son has had 8 brain surgeries now. He's just not "come home" yet, and it's 3 years post surgery.

I had a surgery which went from 8 to finally12 hours. It did change me. Then more recently I had a complete cervical spine fusion. They couldn’t wake me up. I was in recovery then in ICU for many hours before I woke up. It has really changed me. I’m just slower minded.

When I had my 12 hour scoliosis spinal fusion in 2019, I don’t recall any changes! I was just happy it was over with, and I went into surgery very comfortable with my medical professionals! ❤️

I never knew this. Thanks for sharing this!

My daughter had a 12 hr surgery last February to remove 2/3 of her tongue and rebuild it from cancer. She woke up thinking the nurses were trying to kill her. She was terrified. Her anesthesiologist said they had to use so many different drugs, it can give you hallucinations. They actually cut the surgery a little short. I had to get her some new nurses in ICU because she believed it for weeks after. She is scared of surgery now. She had a massive stroke at 48 yo 6 years ago that hit the pons and affected both sides of her brain. After a few years of therapy shes doing well.

I followed your advice going into surgery! Everyone introduced themselves and I thanked them all for helping me that day! The surgery was 3 hours long . It took me a bit to come around after. I remember someone asking me my name and birthdate, which I hope I got right !🥴 then he asked if I knew what month it was. I didn’t answer because I wasn’t sure! Lol . As I was being wheeled back into the recovery room I opened my eyes and thought I’m in a hospital, why am I in here? Then thought maybe it is about my bladder. 15 mins later I was fine and answering Questions and knew why I was there!😂 I had a urethroplasty.😅

Thank you again Dr. Kaveh for taking the time out explaining things, reassuring to make us more comfortable and knowledgeable:) Wish there was more Drs like you that truly care.

I noticed as my mom aged (a very active, sporty, intelligent person) that every time she went under anesthesia for a procedure it impacted her brain function. Eventually she developed dementia, very surprising for as sharp as she had been earlier.

M husband had open heart surgery for a double bypass, a long surgery. He was healthy enough for his surgery to be done off-pump and they did so because of husband's existing and chronic PTSD from his work experiences, so they lowered his temperature greatly for this surgery. He was basically in an induced coma when taken to ICU following the surgery where they slowly raised his temperature and had him on morphine. He had hallucinations in the ICU next day when awake and his demeanor in his cardiac care room was highly agitated. His heart surgeon, knowing my husband suffered from chronic and major PTSD from his work experiences, released him a day early as he was healthy enough. I had to keep a close eye on him at home so he didn't wander outside and try to do things he shouldn't be doing. Luckily, the first week, we had in-home visits every day from rehab, nursing, etc. It took him about a month to get back to normal behavior. You mess with the brain, it takes time to heal.

I had surgery on Monday, 9/11/23, to repair a hiatal hernia and undo my Dor Fundoplication from my previous Heller Myotomy in 2002. I have achalasia. I believe my surgery was just over 3 hours. During previous general anesthesia I’ve had I remembered being brought into the procedure room or operating room. However, with this surgery I didn’t remember a thing after wheeling out of my pre-op room. The next thing I remembered was seeing my surgeon post surgery. This surgery’s anesthesia was so different. I was not given anything through my IV while in my Pre-op room either.

Your a wonderful person for educating us