So I have been having some issues with my wrist for a while now. I broke the lunate bone a while back. I found out that I have some pretty bad arthritis. Not the end of the world. It seemed to progress far too fast for arthritis. We did an MRI, and it appears I had a torn ligament. For those that want to know details, I’ll post them tomorrow when I get them.

If I remember correctly, he said it was successful. He spoke with my wife, but she didn’t understand what he was saying. No paperwork on what was done.

So the reason for the post is:

They knocked me out with Versed, then a dose of propofol. After I was out, they put a tube in the back of my throat and pumped in the Sevoflurane.

Everytime I blow my nose, it smells just like Berryman B12 Chemtool, or maybe it’s Brakeleen. Smells like a really familiar solvent. Really weird. Guessing it’s just the smell of ether.

Any ideas? Anyone else notice this? Is it just the smell of ether?

I don't think they use ether anymore. I also think they use either Versed or Propofol but not together. Could be wrong, not my specialty.

Sorry if I wasn’t clear in what I was posting. The three anesthesia drugs I listed, those are what they used to knock me out. Both the Versed and propofol were administered via IV. I don’t think that would cause an odd smell.

After I was unconscious, they used Sevoflurane to keep me asleep. This is an inhaled gas that they add to your oxygen. I think this is what has left an odd scent in my nose.

While it is gone now, all yesterday from when I left surgery, until I woke up this morning, I had an odd smell, just like B12 Chemtool or Brakeklean. I was wondering if anyone knew why the smells are similar.

It takes a while for the gas to blow off. Not certain why they smell similar, but for obvious reasons, i could see why we’d want anesthesia to have an odor…
Hope everything heals up well.

Tell your anesthesiologist that he should wash his hands after cleaning his guns!

That's the Sevo. Its a liquid that we run through a vaporizor and much like natural gas, there is a distinct smell that'll alert us to a leak in the LMA or ET tube. It could also be some residue from the LMA since they are just non latex tubes that were probably made in China or a country I've never heard of. The LMA sits on the back of your throat for the duration of the surgery so ya, lots of smelly contact that doesn't just wash away.

PS Versed is your friend

I should have asked my Dr.

I woke up in the middle of surgery

Dr was wearing a surgical cap that looked like a Shark. I complemented him on his choice of music (Rolling Stones was playing in the background), and he was using a DeWalt drill to put the screws in my wrist.

I vaguely remember a strange smell after. I do remember that I would have killed for a cup of coffee when I got released.

quote:

Originally posted by TexasScrub:
That's the Sevo. Its a liquid that we run through a vaporizor and much like natural gas, there is a distinct smell that'll alert us to a leak in the LMA or ET tube. It could also be some residue from the LMA since they are just non latex tubes that were probably made in China or a country I've never heard of. The LMA sits on the back of your throat for the duration of the surgery so ya, lots of smelly contact that doesn't just wash away.

PS Versed is your friend

Thank you for the detailed explanation. It makes sense that you would want the smell to be noticeable, so if there was a leak, the whole room wouldn’t pass out.

quote:

Originally posted by CPD SIG:
I should have asked my Dr.

I woke up in the middle of surgery

Dr was wearing a surgical cap that looked like a Shark. I complemented him on his choice of music (Rolling Stones was playing in the background), and he was using a DeWalt drill to put the screws in my wrist.

I vaguely remember a strange smell after. I do remember that I would have killed for a cup of coffee when I got released.

That is called "intraoperative recall" and is an anesthetic complication.
Sometimes when you do everything right, if you have performed enough cases, things can still go wrong.
It is something to mention to your anesthesia guy on the preop visit the next time you have surgery or a procedure.

IV Propofol aka Milk of Amnesia.