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  • Newly Diagnosed, New To The Forum

    which anesthesia to choose.

    Posted by on January 14, 2015 at 9:25 pm

    Start of Discussion
    0 of 0 replies June 2018
    Now

    I got a date for my first TURB, end of January. The uro said that I can choose the general anesthesia with a tube in my throat or a spinal needle that causes freezing from the waist down. I guess in this case I will not sleep. Which one is better?

    dieseldoc replied 10 years ago 5 Members · 5 Replies
  • 5 Replies
  • dieseldoc's avatar

    dieseldoc

    Member
    January 19, 2015 at 11:07 pm

    If you get a spinal you will be paralyzed for at least 6 hours. If you get the general anast. You will probably go home very soon after waking up.

    T1,NO,MO battling bladder cancer since 2005
  • 's avatar

    Guest
    January 15, 2015 at 4:19 am

    Thanks everybody for your input.I am wondering why they don’t do a simple IV, I will ask my doc the next time I have an appointment. I still have time to find out more about the procedure and decide. I was also told that I would have a catheter and two bags, a smaller one for the daytime and a bigger one for the night. Then a nurse comes to my home to take it out after several days.

  • Alan's avatar

    Alan

    Member
    January 15, 2015 at 1:53 am

    For my $$$ a general is simply better than a spinal. Besides, I don’t want to be awake as they are probing there. I have been knocked out 5 times in the past 8 years and each time they seem to be doing a better job calibrating. FWIW

    DX 5/6/2008 TAG3 papillary tumor .5 CM in size. 2 TURBS followed by 6 instillations of BCG weekly with a second round of 6 after a 6 week wait.
  • catherineh's avatar

    catherineh

    Member
    January 14, 2015 at 10:15 pm

    Maybe some facilities are more sensitive to the effects of anesthesia since the widely publicized Joan Rivers death. I was not asked to make that decision but my TURBT was now 5 years ago.

    Given the choice between general anesthesia or a spinal block, I would opt for the anesthesia, but that’s just me. I’m not a fan of needles. As far as the tube down your throat, you wouldn’t know anything about the tube because they knock you out first by having you breath through a mask with sleepy gas in it. You’ll be out almost before you can count to 10.

    Edit: I’m not trying to advise you either way but just answering with the way I would go if I were having surgery. And, anesthesia didn’t cause Joan’s death, inattentive staff did.)

    Best of luck with your TURBT…

    Best wishes… Catherine

    TURBT 1/21/10 at age 55
    Dx: T2aN0M0 Primary Bladder Adenocarcinoma
    Partial Cystectomy 2/25/10
    Vanderbilt Medical Center
    Nashville, TN

  • sara.anne's avatar

    sara.anne

    Member
    January 14, 2015 at 9:50 pm

    Never heard of such choices being used. Usually it is an IV med that is short acting. Same as might be used for GI studies.

    SA

    Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
    BCG; BCG maintenance
    Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
    Forum Moderator

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