The last brain surgery I assisted on a few weeks ago, I don't remember any
local anestheic being applied to the meninges. The patient is given a general
anesthetic before the surgery begins and then is given a local along the line
of incision for the scalp. I'm not sure why a local isn't necessary for the
meninges. I think I'll ask next week...
Oh yeah, I'm not a doctor yet either. :)
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Joseph T. Ho, MS I jtho at u.washington.edu
School of Medicine University of Washington
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Daniel Pouzzner (douzzer at mit.edu-antispam) wrote:
: I'll take a swing at this.
: Intracranial pain is a regular part of life. The pain signals
: originate in the meninges, which are several protective layers
: sandwiched between the brain and the cranium. In brain surgery, local
: anasthetic is injected into the meninges before an incision is made,
: or perhaps general ansthetic is used at first and local anasthetic is
: injected after the incisions are made, but before the patient returns
: to consciousness (I am Not A Doctor).
: -Daniel Pouzzner
