[gas_dr]

Now wait a minute. This, with all due respect, is the kind of medical ignorance that hurts people. I am an anesthesiologist, and I am here to tell you that general anesthesia in the hands of a competent physician is not dangerous. I anesthetize sick and well people alike, and in over 5,000 cases have never had an anesthesia related death.

Please note, however, that anesthesia in the hands of UNSKILLED people, including CERTIFIED REGISTERED NURSE ANESTHETISTS (CRNA), denstists, and office based anesthesia providers who are not board certified anesthesiologists IS dangerous, and this is where the majority of deaths occur.

Please, in the future, do not make sweeping general statements about which you know nothing about.

[Clifdo]

"about which you know nothing about"? You may be a good anesthetist, but your grammar sure lacks something.

[HairOfTheDog]

I appreciate your response. This thread has gotten a bit odd and it is good to hear from a normal person!

[GovernmentShrinker]

Sorry, but it is a medical fact that adverse reactions to general anesthesia do happen, and are often fatal. In addition, mistakes are sometimes made by fully qualified anesthesiologists -- not just by those with lesser qualifications -- and again, due to the very nature of general anesthesia, such mistakes can often be fatal. If you have a choice between having a procedure done under local vs. general anesthesia, your survival odds are always better with the local. Of course, the percent of people who die from general anesthesia is tiny compared to the number who undergo it, but it is still significantly riskier than local anesthesia.

[cynicom]

sweeping general statements....

Read your second paragraph.