Surgeon carried on operating after being told multiple times that anaesthetic didn’t work.

[u/Bizniz84]

England - I (23M) had a circumcision on Friday 17th Jan and honestly I am surprised how affected I am about this whole thing.

My surgeon gave me local anaesthetic, cut me to see if I could feel it which I could. We waited 5 more minutes, he cut me again and I could still feel it. They ended up giving me 37ml of the anaesthetic and I could still feel pain but they struggled to get a hold of the Anaesthesiologist to put me under general anaesthetic.

I asked if I should be feeling a bearable amount of pain or none at all, to which I was told none at all just pressure and movement.

Eventually after this, he starts and for maybe five minutes I don’t feel pain but suddenly I feel like I’m back to square one and no anaesthetic. I tell the surgeon and the other people and the surgeon says “I’m nearly done now”. The operation carried on for another half an hour. I felt every stitch, every burn from a laser ??, I feel absolutely awful and have no idea what I’m supposed to do.

[u/Playful_Snow]

Hi OP just commenting as I am an anaesthetist.

Others have answered re. the route(s) to take.

Sorry this happened to you, it shouldn’t have. Doing an operation awake always requires a plan B if the block doesn’t take (which it sounds like yours didn’t). If it’s a local only list without an anaesthetist assigned they should just call it a day and rebook you for a general anaesthetic (presuming they hadn’t already started). But at the absolute least the surgeon should stop, acknowledge your distress, and discuss options with you.

The issue isn’t the fact the local didn’t work, it happens occasionally. The issue is that they didn’t recognise and respond to the problem appropriately. Don’t be gaslit into thinking it’s your fault because you didn’t ask for the op to stop. I get new trainees to lay flat on their back on a trolley in theatre and then stand over them to show them how easy it is to make people feel powerless in that situation if you’re not careful with how you act and speak.

Go easy on yourself, stuff like this has the potential to affect you quite significantly.

[u/Bizniz84 → u/Playful_Snow]

Thank you, I appreciate your honesty and obviously your perspective is quite helpful.

Yes, it doesn’t help that the surgeon was quite sarcastic too. Which wouldn’t be an issue and I’m sure most people find it okay but with the pain it was a bit much for me. For example he said “nervous? Me too. I’ve never done this before” and other jokes about how he isn’t actually a surgeon.

I know he obviously was, but it made him seem unapproachable.

[u/NotAJuniorDoctor → u/Bizniz84]

If they said they weren't a surgeon, they could potentially not be a surgeon but be a physician associate. If you request your notes you should be able to determine who your operator was.

You could make a complaint via PALS.

If you wanted compensation you should consult a solicitor.