Monday, September 24, 2007

But why would anyone want to stay awake for this?

Yahoo! News carries an AFP story this morning about a man who stayed awake during his own brain surgery.

John James, a retired bus driver, was apparently kept awake during the surgery to make certain that the procedure to remove an aneurysm did not harm his vision: He had to "read the words and numbers on flashcards shown to him during the surgery" so the surgeons could be sure.

Next week: Do-it-yourself brain surgery kits.

12 comments:

Mother Jones RN said...

I bet everyone was instructed not to say something stupid like "oops" during the procedure. Dang!

MJ

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

posting maniac today curmy?? ha ha

smiles, bee
tyvc

Barb said...

I read Robin Cook books and in one of them a guy had to be awake. He didn't have to read anything though. :)

Patti said...

Curmy, did you mean "did not harm his vision"?

The Curmudgeon said...

Patti -- typo corrected. (You mean I have to read these too?)

MJ -- as soon as I read your comment that was all I could think about. I could see myself in the OR biting my tongue 'til it bled trying so hard not to say that....

Anonymous said...

Absolutely not, but isn't science amazing.

Shelby said...

not i said the fly

katherine. said...

I don't even want to watch when they take blood....I HATED watching my kids get stitches...oh geezzzzz.

sari said...

That makes me a little dizzy just to think about.

bundle-o-contradictions said...

Ick.

landgirl said...

Well, if it meant keeping my eyesight, I guess I'd be willing to try but, yes I agree with everyone else that the thought is definitely not appealing.

Amanda said...

Geez....I'm not sure I would be able to keep calm enough to read any words. I'd be too busy trying to read the faces of the surgeons!