Woman conscious during surgery after anesthesia mishap: ‘The nightmares have been horrendous’

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A British woman claims she wakes from “horrendous” nightmares multiple times a week and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after undergoing a surgical procedure while conscious. She’s now seeking legal action against the hospital which has reportedly admitted liability for the mishap that occurred after the patient was given the wrong anesthetic.

The woman, who has not been publicly identified, claims she could feel a surgeon cutting into her belly button to perform a gynecological surgery in July 2018, at Yeovil Hospital in Bath, England. She claims she screamed, but no one could hear her because her head was behind a curtain and her mouth was covered with an oxygen mask, PA Media reports.

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The woman, who is in her 30s, also claims she could feel doctors placing a laparoscope inside of her and was also aware when her abdomen was being filled with gas. When her blood pressure levels increased — a sign of distress — the procedure did not stop, said medical negligence attorneys with the firm Irwin Mitchell.

“I have suffered a lot with PTSD and the nightmares have been horrendous. I have these images lying on a table with people watching me and not listening to my screams. It is terrible and I can wake up around three times a week due to this,” she said in a statement, according to PA Media.“I’m also now very nervous and paranoid around doctors too – my trust has just been shattered.”

The woman was only given a spinal anesthetic, according to reports. (iStock)

The woman was conscious because she was given spinal anesthesia rather than a general anesthetic. Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Yeovil Hospital, has accepted liability for the mishap, the woman’s lawyers said, as per PA Media.

In a statement to Fox News, a spokesperson for Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said a “breakdown of communication” led to the mixup.

“It appears that a breakdown of communication led to the use of a different anesthetic to that normally required for such an operation. We are sorry if this patient suffered any distress as a result,” the spokesperson said. “However, this case is yet to be resolved with the claimant and we will therefore not discuss this further. In a typical year, we carry out more than 15,000 operations, many of them life-saving, and we pride ourselves on the highest possible standards of care and safety.”

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The patient hopes that no one else endures what she has gone through.

“While nothing will change what has happened to me, I just hope that lessons can be learned so no one else faces similar problems in the future,” said the woman, who has not yet reached a settlement with the hospital.