Dementia & General anesthesia

ltbub0418

My 78 y/o Dad had general anesthesia for the very first time in his life last December 2025. I noticed his cognition was worse post surgery. . I had requested a PETSCAN AFTER HIS SURGERY but we wereDENIED). In Feb/March 26 he develops an earache that has never gone away. 6 months worth of different tests/treatments from his primary with no success. Then in March 26 he FINALLY has his appointment with the geriatric doctor and she told us he had MCI stage 3. Only to upgrade him to stage 4 dementia when she made his care plan.
Fast forward to yesterday we FINALLY get to see an ENT & now he has tonsil cancer.(which they would have seen had the done the PET SCAN when requested it)…Lesson learned I will fight for what I believe is medically correct when I’m getting the runaround,)

My question is has anyone found an alternative to general anesthesia for a case like this ? He has been doing very well cognitively I would hate for them to remove this cancer just for him to lose the dementia battle. Thanks for any help you can give. May God bless you all.

JulietteBee

Professionally speaking, there are many ways for a person to be put to sleep, for surgery, by an anesthesiologist.

That said, it is still the anesthesiologist who decides what type of anesthetic agent is used; based on the patient's age, procedure being done, and comorbidities.

I am so sorry to hear of your daddy's diagnosis and totally understand your fear of making an incorrect trade-off.

I was in your shoes in June when my PWD needed to have a cardiac procedure done. I requested a consultation with the anesthesiologist, days before surgery, to discuss my concerns about using general anesthesia on a person already at the "moderately-severe" point on their timeline with Alzheimers.

I do wish you well and wishing daddy a speedy recovery.🫂

harshedbuzz

@ltbub0418

There are sometimes alternatives to general anesthesia, but the surgeon would have to be willing and depending on the type of surgery might not. How well your dad would cope during a procedure if not heavily sedated is always a factor. I had this very conversation with an ENT who was doing a lipoma removal near mom's ear that interfered with her hearing aid on that side. Mom was about 84 at the time; she doesn't have dementia, but anesthesia is risky for any elder. I was able to cite procedures she'd done with locals/no sedation— complicated MOHS and knee arthroscopy— and he agreed to revisit it day of. She seemed calm and reiterated her preference and did well. With dementia, your dad might not be able to be as still and cooperative as needed or for the time needed.

What does treatment look like going forward? The prognosis for this condition can vary a great deal by type. Cancer treatment often causes dementia to progress at a faster rate. Chemo brain is real for some. It's worth discussing with neurology. If it's a situation where treatment would be onerous and not particularly effective, some people would opt to bring in hospice and provide comfort care as opposed to spending his end of life with rounds of very unpleasant treatments.

I am sorry you're facing this on top of the dementia.

HB