I‘VE had a BUNCH of surgeries.
1952 — (age 4) Had urethra bored out to help increase urine flow. Was put to sleep with an ether cloth held over my face. I was TERRIFIED! Later in life, scar tissue from this surgery has caused even more issues with a very slow urine flow. That’s why I just sit to pee as it takes so long to empty out!
1964 — (age 16) Had Pilonidal Cyst removed under general anesthesia. What a relief this was!
1968 — (age 20) Had all four impacted wisdom teeth removed in the hospital under general anesthesia. I was a patient for 3-days!
1988 — (age 40) Had BOTH Big, Severely Infected Ingrown Toe Nails Removed under local anesthesia. This was an interesting procedure to watch!
2006 — (age 50) Had brain surgery to alleviate pressure from spontaneous bi-lateral, subdural hematomas. Symptoms were no balance, whatsoever. Very scary! Of course, under general anesthesia! A day after two nickel-sized burr holes were drilled in the rear of my skull, I could walk again.
2007 — (age 59) Removal of RUPTURED appendix. Under general anesthesia. Had to stay in the hospital for three days to be filled with IV fluids to kill the infection.
2018 — (age 70) Had triple coronary bypass surgery (under general anesthesia) which failed — after just a month — when I had a mild heart attack. Then had to go back in the hospital — TWICE — later that month for the placement of three stents. During the last of these procedures, I bled profusely and ended up with a VERY LARGE grapefruit sized hematoma in my scrotum. Stayed in the hospital for several days with that! It was a month before the swelling went down and I could, once again, put on a pair of pants!
2019 — Had numerous urological procedures (biopsies, radiation, etc) for treatment of prostate cancer. Biopsies were done with mostly, ineffective, local anesthesia — OUCH !!!
I have also had many dental procedures for fillings, crowns, etc., all done with local anesthetics. It may sound weird, but I actually enjoy dental injections. Additionally, I’ve had three sigmoidoscopies, all done with No Anesthesia and two colonoscopies where I WAS “knocked out”.