How often is it safe to get general anaesthetic?

Question

There's an eye surgeon in my running club and I told him I had general anaesthetic three times. He told me that's a lot. I've heard of people thinking general anaesthetic is bad, is there any scientific evidence? If it is dangerous, how often can it be used safely? I found this article but it's not fully scientific (though one of the authors is a doctor) http://patient.info/doctor/important-complications-of-anaesthesia When I ask if general anaesthetic is bad, I'm looking for long term side effects and not things that happen from lying down wrong or things related to the surgery itself.

Answer 1

"Safe" is a relative term. As we know any medication that is administer to a patient has risks of adverse, reactions and/or allergic reactions. When we think if the purpose for which a person needs to undergo anesthesia -- it is for a procedure/surgery. Is that procedure/surgery vital or elective? You already mentioned being aware of the short term/immediate risks of anesthesia, but when you look at how anesthesia effects the body it does lend to the possibility of long term complications. When you look at how anesthesia effects the body and then combine that situation with an individual's predisposition or undue complications that can arise--there are certainly great areas for concern.

I encourage you to keep on looking at research. Make sure all research/websites you use are research based/peer reviewed. Here is an example of a scholarly article from a reputable site: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2784653/

Answer 2

There is no limit because it is short acting and wear off very fast. The problem comes in if the patient has lung disease like COPD etc....