“Is anesthesia safe for a person who suffers with seizures?”
My brother has epilepsy, and suffers with seizures frequently. He is scheduled to have surgery in 2 weeks for a knee injury, and is very nervous about being under anesthesia with his condition. Is this safe for him?
7 Answers
Yes, continue seizure medication.
The ultimate treatment for seizure is general anesthesia. He will not seize under, but can seize afterward. He has to be well controlled before surgery. I would not put someone under for elective surgery.
Anesthesia is safe in patients with a history of seizure disorder the same as in healthy patients as long as the anesthesiologist will take the appropriate precautions.
Most drugs used in anesthesia tend to reduce or eliminate the incidence of seizure activity.
If his seizures are well-controlled, he should do just fine under a general anesthetic.
General anesthesia and the medications used all typically lower the risk for seizures, and some of them are used to treat people when they are seizing. Lidocaine is known to have potential to lower the seizure threshold (make someone with seizures more prone to a seizure), but we typically avoid this medication when inducing anesthesia. Lidocaine dosage is typically to low when it is used for skin numbing, it should just be minimized if given IV. Bottom line, seizure medication should be continued and discussed pre-surgery with the anesthesiologist, and the risk for seizures is low.
Absolutely, take your usual meds. You will do great!
