A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

Carol Weihrer, who describes herself as a victim of surgical awareness – the state of being awake but unable to respond during anesthetized surgery – has established the Anesthesia Awareness Campaign, promoted on a web site, www.anesthesiaawareness.com.

The site asks for feedback from those who have experienced this phenomenon and promotes the use of technology to monitor brain activity, citing research figures indicating that such monitors can reduce the occurrence of surgical awareness by 82% – specifically referring to the research on the BIS monitoring system from Aspect Medical Systems (Newton, Massachusetts).

The site is directly critical of anesthesiology practice, saying that surgical patients “seldom get to meet their anesthesiologist more than a few minutes before surgery.” It adds: “The person who actually sees to it that your vital body functions continue and who truly holds your life in his/her hands is less familiar to you than your hairdresser! Patients are rarely told whether they will be paralyzed during surgery, or if and what type of monitors will be used to determine the consciousness of the patient.”

A key piece of advice to patients on the site: “Think twice about using a surgical facility or hospital that does not use BIS monitoring!”