CHAT: Elective surgery (was: Interbeing)

> Date:         Wed, 27 Feb 2002 16:43:29 -0500
> From: Padraic Brown <agricola@...>
>
> Am 27.02.02, Kala Tunu yscrifef:
> >[Attribution lost]:
> >> And tomorrow, a lengthier opus on "Circumcision". Fear not, o
> >> squeamish ones; it's not a medical treatise, [...]
> > ouch. i don't want to read this. does anyone here whitness whether
> > it really hurts when you're an adult?
> If I have any say in the matter, the anesthetist _will_ make sure
> the man is dead to the world for the duration. In answer to your
> question, yes, it hurts like bloody hell. Suture needles, knives,
> electrocautery, scissors, clamps, little tweezers with teeth, and
> a few other friendly looking instruments of torture all play a
> vital part.
Circumcision in adults is an elective procedure, usually cosmetic or
to alleviate functional problems. As a matter of sane medical risk
management, it does not merit a general anesthetic, which has a risk
of .1 to 1 percent of life threatening complications even in healthy
young adults.

Now meditate on how to do a local anesthetic of the affected part...

(The same goes for dental surgery. A general anesthetic should only be
used if a local is strongly contraindicated. I'm told that general
anesthetis is the standard procedure in the US. See above on sanity).

Lars Mathiesen (U of Copenhagen CS Dep) <thorinn@...> (Humour NOT marked)

Replies