Post Operative Memory Loss Information

Post operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a condition wherein after an operation, due largely to the type and amount of anesthesia used, you can suffer temporary (and occasionally long term) memory loss.

• Post Operative Memory Loss

Statistics

• The Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia (SAMBA) estimates that patients who undergo general anesthesia during surgery can suffer a 26 percent loss of cognitive function involving memory during the first week.

Heart Bypass Surgery

• One of the post-operative conditions of heart bypass is loss of memory. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, some people report loss of memory and a reduction in their mental clarity, or "fuzzy thinking."

Duke University Study

• In a study conducted at Duke University in 2008, researchers found that out of the 1064 patients they followed for one year that 12 percent of the patients over 60 years of age reported continuing cognitive dysfunction and memory loss. This was an increase of more than 5 percent over all other age groups.

Significant Risk

• Researchers who conducted the Duke University study in 2008 have drawn the conclusion that, while adult patients of any age can suffer memory loss post-operatively, general anesthesia poses a more "significant risk" in patients over the age of 60.

Continuing Research

• Some patients report continued cognitive dysfunction more than a year after their surgeries. Physicians are still studying POCD by using PET scans which measure metabolic function in the brain, CAT scans which produce cross section images of the brain and MRI scans which can show brain anomalies without using x-rays.