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Topic: Carol Weihrer

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Intraoperative awareness

Anesthesia awareness

Eye surgery

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	THISDAYonline
		Carol Weihrer, 52, from Virginia, heads a campaign to educate people about the possibility of anesthesia failure during surgery, otherwise known as awareness.
		Weihrer, who has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, watched surgical implements enter her face until her optic nerve was cut.
		Weihrer said her doctor noticed her finger wiggle during the operation, but instead of interpreting the movement as a sign of wakefulness, he ordered another excruciating shot of paralytic medication.
	www.thisdayonline.com /archive/2004/04/17/20040417sxt01.html (983 words)

	Awake during surgery: rare, but frightening - More Health News - MSNBC.com
		Carol Weihrer talks to a group at the Trinity Methodist Church, in April in Virginia.
		Weihrer is speaking out about anesthesia awareness after her experience of feeling her surgery under general anethesia during an eye operation.
		Weihrer said in her surgery — a step she took because of recurring problems from a rare cornea condition — the worst part was her inability to move.
	msnbc.msn.com /id/5003469 (994 words)

	Execution injections painful and cruel, critics say (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Six years after a botched eyeball surgery, West Virginia's Weihrer is the unlikely leader of a group opposing an ingredient in the lethal cocktail of drugs administered to death row convicts.
		Wearing a heavy patch over her right eye, Weihrer yesterday recounted the 1998 surgery, and she was able to do so because she was conscious for the excruciating bulk of it.
		Weihrer spoke yesterday at the first state judiciary committee hearing on a Senate bill amendment, proposed by Rep. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery, that would outlaw the use of pancuronium-family chemicals as an injection agent in Pennsylvania executions.
	www.post-gazette.com /pg/04239/367967.stm (620 words)

	Nursing Spectrum- Career Fitness Online - verbal abuse (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Carol Weihrer was having surgery to remove her eye in 1998.
		Supposedly unaware, under general anesthesia, Weihrer says she was as awake and alert during the 5.5-hour procedure as she was during the interview for this story.
		Weihrer is a big advocate of the monitors, which are not yet a standard of care, and recommends that patients undergo surgery in hospitals where the monitors are used.
	nsweb.nursingspectrum.com /cfforms/GuestLecture/UnderButAware.cfm (1239 words)

	Guardian \| A scream that can't be heard
		It was the music that first weaved its way through Carol Weihrer's dulled senses, a faint beat carrying distant lyrics that ebbed and flowed from her consciousness.
		Though Carol had woken up, the paralytic drugs she had been administered were working perfectly, her body limp and unresponsive to even the most determined effort.
		Though Carol's psychological scars run especially deep, the damage caused to her life is not unusual among those who regain consciousness during operations.
	www.guardian.co.uk /print/0,3858,5129481-103425,00.html (3119 words)

	When anethesia fails - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
		Carol Weihrer was anesthetized but awake when surgeons removed her diseased eye.
		Weihrer, of Reston, Va., had such a traumatic experience that she now advocates for victims of anesthesia awareness -- when a patient under general anesthesia is not rendered unconscious but instead remains aware of some or all events that occur during surgery.
		Weihrer said she gets as many as half a dozen calls a day from people who claim they had similar experiences.
	www.pittsburghlive.com /x/pittsburghtrib/s_327521.html (578 words)

	Anesthesia Awareness: One Woman's Nightmare -- ThirdAge
		McLEAN, Va. - The pain in Carol Weihrer's eye was so severe she decided to have it surgically removed, believing it was the only way to get on with life.
		Weihrer, who lives in Reston, Va., has since dedicated her life to warning of the dangers of anesthesia awareness and agitating for changes in how doctors monitor a patient's consciousness.
		Weihrer said in her surgery -- a step she took because of recurring problems from a rare cornea condition -- the worst part was her inability to move.
	www.thirdage.com /news/articles/ALT02/04/05/28/ALT02040528-02.html (887 words)

	USATODAY.com - When patients wake up - during surgery (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Carol Weihrer was facing surgery to remove her right eye, but taking it in stride.
		Weihrer experienced "anesthesia awareness" — or what doctors call "awareness with recall" — when patients aren't fully anesthetized and are aware they're being operated on.
		She and others say the solution is relatively simple: besides making patients aware of the potential risk, hospitals should install monitoring technology that can alert anesthesiologists if a patient is on the verge of waking up.
	www.usatoday.com /news/health/2004-10-22-waking-up_x.htm (856 words)

	Mac-a-ro-nies
		So, I fully support a woman who has made a crusade of informing the public and the medical community that not every patient is out when she is down.
		I agree with Weihrer that what one feels when inadequately drugged during surgery is often excessive pressure -- pulling or pressing down to the point that you thinks something has to give.
		Weihrer, who lives in Reston, has since dedicated her life to warning of the dangers of anesthesia awareness and agitating for changes in how doctors monitor a patient's consciousness.
	macaronies.blogspot.com /2004_05_16_macaronies_archive.html (1252 words)

	CNN.com - Operation was wake-up call - Oct 25, 2005
		Carol Weihrer, left, talks with Dr. Shelley Freeman at an American Society of Anesthesiologists meeting.
		As Weihrer explained, her cornea sustained an injury, and in response, the eye produced new cells to heal or fix the injury.
		Weihrer said she has not been well received by the anesthesiology community, but she did find sympathetic listeners at the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the quasi-governmental authority called JCAHO that certifies hospitals.
	www.cnn.com /2005/HEALTH/10/25/profile.anesthesia.advocate (1124 words)

	archives
		Weihrer, in addition to being a musician, teacher of emotionally challenged children and well-known wood sculptor, was a long-time volunteer at Frederick Memorial Hospital and had strong ties to Frederick Surgical Center.
		Weihrer’s daughter, Carol Weihrer, is the President and Founder of The Anesthesia Awareness Campaign, which she launched after awakening during a 5½-hour eye surgery to remove her right eye in 1998.
		Weihrer is thrilled to know that patients at The Frederick Surgical Center and FMH undergoing full general anesthesia during surgery will be virtually assured of receiving adequate sedation, thanks to the use of BIS technology in addition to the careful vigilance and expertise of their anesthesiologists.
	www.anesthesiaawareness.com /archives.html (2756 words)

	AHC \| HOT TOPICS
		A local anesthetic kept Weihrer from feeling the pain of her eye being cut out; however, she could feel pulling and tugging, could hear the conversations of the surgical team, and was frantic because paralytic agents kept her from communicating that she was awake.
		Weihrer, who attended the ASA conference to promote the idea of bispectral index monitoring and to draw attention to intraoperative awareness, says the practice advisory is “a baby step” and not enough.
		Weihrer says that to a patient who has awakened during surgery, there is no excuse for not using brain activity monitors during general anesthesia.
	www.ahcpub.com /hot_topics/?htid=1&httid=1679 (1888 words)

	The horror of awakening during surgery - The Boston Globe
		Seven years ago, Carol Weihrer, a flutist and office administrator, had her right eye removed.
		Weihrer had been living in pain from a severely scratched cornea for years and had undergone 17 surgeries to try to fix it.
		Weihrer sued her anesthesiologist for malpractice, arguing, among other things, that an anesthesia machine was not working properly.
	www.boston.com /news/globe/health_science/articles/2005/02/08/the_horror_of_awakening_during_surgery (993 words)

	USNews.com: Health: In Brief: Public Health: Anesthesia awareness: Brain monitors get a 'tepid ' endorsement
		Carol Weihrer, who was completely conscious most of the time her diseased eye was being removed, has been a constant critic of the profession, which she believes has acknowledged neither the problem nor the remedy.
		Weihrer agrees, however, that adopting the advisory "was a big pill for ASA to swallow—to admit that there is a problem.
		But it's just a baby step." Weihrer, who after her experience created a Web-based effort called Anesthesia Awareness Campaign, wants to see ASA emphasize to its members the need to ask all anesthesia patients whether they awakened during surgery, to investigate all such reports, and to provide psychological counseling when necessary.
	www.usnews.com /usnews/health/briefs/publichealth/hb051026a.htm (789 words)

	DC Society of Anesthesiologists - News 4
		Carol Weihrer of northern Virginia recalled how her nightmare unfolded six years ago.
		She had been given general anesthesia that included a drug that left her temporarily paralyzed and powerless.
		Carol Weihrer filed a lawsuit after her surgery.
	www.dcsahq.org /html/news_4.html (417 words)

	BBC NEWS \| Health \| 'I was awake during eye surgery'
		Unable to move or indicate to the doctors that she was awake, Ms Weihrer had to endure surgeons pulling, gouging and cutting away at her.
		Ms Weihrer, from Virginia in the US, received an out of court settlement following the operation but the experience has had lasting consequences.
		Ms Weihrer, who has set up the Anesthesia Awareness Campaign and will be addressing the conference on Friday, said she believed patients were going to have to take the initiative.
	news.bbc.co.uk /1/hi/health/3769245.stm (548 words)

	Waking During Surgery: A Real, Terrifying Nightmare -- ThirdAge
		Just before she was given general anesthesia, Weihrer remembers, she was feeling relieved that her trauma would soon be over.
		Weihrer felt no pain but was absolutely terrified.
		To this day, Weihrer, who now runs Anesthesia Awareness Campaign Inc. from her home in Reston, Va., says she can't sleep more than a few hours without nightmares and can recall verbatim doctors' conversations in the operating room.
	www.thirdage.com /news/articles/ALT02/05/04/15/ALT02050415-02.html (964 words)

	[No title]
		"I was thinking as clearly as I am now." Weihrer, who has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, watched surgical implements enter her face until her optic nerve was cut.
		Nonetheless, Weihrer continues to publicize her story so others do not suffer her fate.
		-!-!- Carol Weihrer, 52, from Virginia, heads a campaign to educate people about the possibility of anesthesia failure during surgery, otherwise known as awareness.
	www.jrn.columbia.edu /studentwork/cns/2004-03-01/syndication/halter-anesthesiafailure.txt (1003 words)

	washingtonpost.com: Wake-Up Call
		Six years ago, Weihrer says, she woke up in an operating room at Washington Hospital Center while doctors were removing her diseased eye.
		But other cases, including one filed by Weihrer, were settled secretly, on the condition that the name of the doctor, the size of the payment and in some cases the entire court file be sealed.
		Roger W. Litwiller, a Roanoke physician who is president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), said that while his group is "very concerned" about intraoperative awareness, he thinks the problem has been "sensationalized" and considers the number of cases JCAHO cites to be inflated.
	www.washingtonpost.com /ac2/wp-dyn/A4207-2004Nov22?language=printer (2687 words)

	Group seeks to halt 'anesthesia awareness' in surgery \| www.azstarnet.com ®
		Carol Weihrer, who runs a patient advocacy group called the Anesthesia Awareness Campaign, said none of those actions were taken before or after a 1998 operation in which her diseased right eyeball was surgically removed.
		"I felt the pulling and tugging and the pressure of the cutting while the surgeon was instructing the resident to cut deeper and pull harder," said Weihrer, 53, of Reston, Va.
		Weihrer said she is delighted with the JCAHO's alert.
	www.azstarnet.com /sn/printDS/42081 (429 words)

	ANESTHESIOLOGY NEWSLETTER
		Carol Weihrer, a self-described “victim of intraoperative awareness,” visited Morgantown last week and told her story at our Grand Rounds.
		Weihrer underwent enucleation of her right eye in January 1998 at a major hospital in Washington, DC.
		Perhaps I got to know Weihrer better than others or she was more positive when we talked.
	www.hsc.wvu.edu /som/anesth/news/News/03152004.htm (2204 words)

	[No title] (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Carol Weihrer, who won an out-of-court settlement after her anesthesia failed during a five-hour eye surgery in 1998, was disappointed.
		Now a patient advocate, she said that technology that might prevent a patient's suffering should be used and also called for the society to help establish a registry for case reports of surgical awareness.
		The 54-year-old Virginia woman was awake but paralyzed while doctors cut and gouged to remove her right eye seven years ago.
	www.11alive.com /news/news_article.aspx?storyid=71010 (439 words)

	Battle over lethal injection playing out in courts (phillyBurbs.com) \| New Jersey News (via CobWeb/3.1 ... (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Weihrer's experience highlights the central argument in the latest debate over capital punishment.
		Attorneys in at least a dozen of the 37 states that use lethal injection have pursued lawsuits claiming the procedure is unconstitutionally cruel because the anesthetic doesn't last through the entire procedure.
		Weihrer also testified last month in front of the Pennsylvania legislative committee about her eye surgery.
	www.phillyburbs.com.cob-web.org:8888 /pb-dyn/news/104-09112004-364037.html (740 words)

	Today's SurgiCenter - The magazine for those responsible with implementing today's business and clinical solutions in ...
		The donation was made to honor the memory of Arthur H. Weihrer, Jr., who died in May 2006.
		Weihrer’s daughter, Carol Weihrer, is the president and founder of The Anesthesia Awareness Campaign, which she launched after awakening during a five-hour eye surgery in 1998.
		Carol Weihrer commented, “I get calls every day from people who have experienced anesthesia awareness, but now I know I won’t be receiving any from area code 301. With this donation, and together with the monitors already in place at
	www.surgicenteronline.com /hotnews/68h16921334736.html (422 words)

	Silenced screams
		Carol Weihrer of Reston, VA., founded the Anesthesia Awareness Campaign, an advocacy group, after walking during surgery, to remove her diseased eye.
		The first thing Sidney L. Williams says he heard when he awoke in the operating room during open-heart surgery two years ago was the insistent whine of a bone saw cleaving his sternum.
		Roger W. Litwiller, a Roanoke, Va., physician who is president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), said that while his group is "very concerned" about intraoperative awareness, he thinks the problem has been "sensationalized" and considers the number of cases JCAHO cites to be inflated.
	www.freenewmexican.com /news/7583.html (2901 words)

	Article: Paralyzed by Fear
		Carol Weihrer was undergoing surgery to have an eye removed.
		She woke up — her senses and feelings intact — but paralyzed and unable to alert doctors who continued the operation oblivious to her nightmare.
		Weihrer, who founded the Anesthesia Awareness campaign, reports sleep pattern disturbances, others experience post-traumatic stress disorder.
	umanitoba.fitdv.com /new/articles/article.html?artid=457 (621 words)

	USATODAY.com - Lawsuits in many states seek to ban lethal injection (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Carol Weihrer of Reston, Va., testified before the Pennsylvania lawmakers about how the anesthesia she was given for eye surgery didn't work, but the drug she was given to paralyze her did — meaning she couldn't alert her doctors that she was awake.
		She felt no pain from the cutting, because the painkilling portion was effective, but the tremendous pressure exerted to remove the eye was painful in its own way.
		There is no national consensus on how much anesthesia to give an inmate and no way to guarantee the condemned stays unconscious throughout the procedure, said Heath, who testified with Weihrer before the Pennsylvania legislative committee.
	www.usatoday.com /news/nation/2004-09-17-lethal-injection_x.htm (784 words)

	The Median Sib » Blog Archive » Carol Weihrer - Awake during surgery
		Last week I read a news story that illustrates one of my fears - having surgery and being aware of what’s going on, feeling the pain, but being unable to communicate that to the doctors.
		The story I read was about Carol Weihrer, who awakened during surgery in 1998, but because the paralyzing portion of the “anesthesia cocktail” made her unable to move or indicate that she was aware and that she was feeling pain, she was trapped - aware but unable to communicate the situation to the doctors.
		One Response to “Carol Weihrer - Awake during surgery”
	themediansib.com /2005/11/08/carol-weihrer-awake-during-surgery (344 words)

	Waking Up During Surgery - CBS News (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Like most surgical patients, Weihrer's anesthesia consisted of a cocktail of drugs: one to put her to sleep, a painkiller and a paralyzing agent.
		Now, Weihrer's case is at the extreme end of the spectrum, but she's not alone.
		So Weihrer spends most of her time now running an Internet support group for other victims, most of whom, she says, don't speak out for fear of being called crazy.
	www.cbsnews.com /stories/2003/11/24/eveningnews/main585347.shtml (595 words)

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