Wrong Assumptions

The most cynical surgeons like to say that anesthesiology is ninety-nine percent boredom and one-percent sheer terror. Strange Daze is about the one percent. The "one percent" can occur with any type of anesthesia, not just general anesthesia, which brings us to today's episode: "On Pins and Needles." Spinal anesthesia is still a popular alternative to general technique for certain types of surgery, but every anesthetic technique has its limitations, including spinal anesthesia. In today's episode, our narrator learns the limitations of spinal anesthesia in his first year of anesthesia residency when assigned to the orthopedic "total joint" room. In the hands of a master, spinal anesthesia is a beautiful and elegant alternative to general anesthesia. In the hands of an inexperienced anesthesia resident, spinal anesthesia can suddenly and unexpectedly devolve into the "one percent". You may be wondering how spinal anesthesia can go so wrong. Truth be told, in about a million and a half different ways… Tune in and you'll find out how…

The most cynical surgeons like to say that anesthesiology is 99% boredom and 1% sheer terror. Strange Daze is about the one-percent. This episode is about a routine anesthetic for a baby having a hernia repair that devolved into one of the most terrifying cases of my early career. For a pediatric anesthesiologist, a hernia repair in a healthy baby is about as straightforward a case as you'll ever get. Until it becomes part of the one-percent. How can a routine anesthetic go so wrong? Truth be told, in about a million and a half different ways.

In our haste to get a surgery started, sometimes we do things we shouldn't do… And sometimes, we don't do the things we should… In anesthesiology, either of these errors can have serious consequences…

The most cynical surgeons like to say that anesthesiology is ninety-nine percent boredom, and one percent sheer terror. Strange Daze is about the one percent... Episode 3 is a case that involved a man under my care scheduled for coronary artery bypass surgery. That morning, I was prepared for just about anything that could go wrong…except the complication that threatened my patient's life and forever made him part of the one percent. It's never the shark you see that bites you; it's the one you don't see. How can a case go so wrong? In about a million and half different ways. The Big Red One is just one of them.

Cynical surgeons characterize anesthesiology as 99% boredom and 1% sheer terror. Knee arthroscopy is about as routine a surgery you'll ever have .... until it becomes the 1%. Episode 2 is about a lady who blew up during knee arthroscopy.

A healthy, 37-year old woman comes into the hospital to deliver her third baby. In what started out as a seemingly routine case, ended up with the woman slipping into a coma… How is it possible for a routine case to go so wrong? In a about a million and a half different ways… This is just one of them.

Strange Daze is a bi-weekly podcast from the creators of Straight Talk MD, hosted by anesthesiologist Frank Sweeny. Each episode fuses narrative storytelling with science as our host examines a real case of a surgery or a procedure that went terribly wrong and dissects out why. Even the best doctors practicing at the best medical institutions make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes have serious consequences. And sometimes, even when you do everything right, things can still go terribly wrong. The most cynical surgeons depict anesthesiology as 99% boredom and 1% sheer terror. Strange Daze is about the 1%.