POCD- This is the term used when “gradma is not exactly the same person” after surgery. Yes, it is true that a few brain cells are knocked out each time you go under anesthesia. The stories about becoming more demented after anesthesia are not far fetched.There is intense research going on about this subject right now. Cognition is about mental perception, memory, processing information, acquiring knowledge, problem solving, and the ability to plan for the future. Up to this point studies have shown that the elderly, and people with pre-existing dementia are prone to a decline in cognition after anesthesia. This so called blunted brain can last about a week, improve after 3 months or get worse. Having mutiple surgeries at an advanced age is of no help. But advanced age is exactly when people do undergo surgery. A double whammy.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 at 10:29 pm and is filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.