Worried about DM's operation

[Lobsterquadrille2]

Not really sure where to post .... my mother is nearly 90 but in pretty good health, totally independent, lives alone since my father died two years ago. She has a prolapsed bowel which has caused her a lot of pain and indignity over the last year or so, and has worsened recently. Her operation to (hopefully) correct this has been postponed twice and is going to go ahead this Wednesday.

She told me today that she cannot have a general anaesthetic because of a serious brain injury from years ago, so will be numbed from the waist down.

I can't bear to google this. I have telephoned her doctor but they are not allowed to discuss anything without her permission (absolutely fair enough).

Has anyone been through anything similar?

Lots of people have operations under a spinal anaesthetic - a friends mum recently had a hip replacement done like that. They put a screen up so you can't see anything, and obviously you can't feel anything either. The staff make it very reassuring and dignified

@CMOTDibbler thank you! That's reassuring. I'm clueless when it comes to this kind of thing - so it sounded weird to me.

Not bowel surgery but my 86 year old mum had emergency hip replacement (following a fall) with only a spinal anaesthetic.

I think it's quite normal to do this as both my dad's knee replacemtns were done when he was awake.

Bit different but I had hand surgery with a nerve block instead of GA.

I specifically asked for it as didn't want a GA.

I felt nothing at all! Not even pulling or pressure, there was a sheet up so I couldn't see, although they did ask when they put the screw in if I wanted to take a look and I said yes, that was odd

As soon as the surgery was done, I got dressed and went home, was out within 30 minutes.

Only bad thing was that my arm really was completely numb and I had no control over it at all for about 3 hours, so it was just a heavy lump of flesh that I lugged around for a bit. I'd imagine she will need to wait around in the hospital for a bit for feeling to come back and movement control to return.

Thank you. Sounds as if this is much more commonplace than I realised. I was comparing it to root canal, which is my only experience of a local anaesthetic, really, and that was far from pleasant. She's expected to stay in hospital for a few days, according to her surgeon.