Timeline: What If You Wake Up During Surgery

If you have a major surgery, you most likely will receive general anesthesia and be unconscious during the operation. This means you will have no awareness of the procedure once the anesthesia takes control, and you won’t remember it afterward. Very rarely — in only one or two of every 1,000 medical procedures involving general anesthesia — a patient may become aware or conscious. The condition, called anesthesia awareness. Here is what happens if you wake up during surgery.

DISCLAIMER: This Timeline/Comparison is based on public data, surveys, public comments & discussions and approximate estimations that might be subjected to some degree of error.

Subscribe to Infinite Comparison for more comparison/timeline videos.

[luisfelipegalloflores]

My poor granny had her reproductive system removed back in the 80's, medical technology wasn't the finest at that time so she woke up mid surgery, she felt the whole thing, she felt her uterus being removed while the doctors were talking about a soccer match, she described it as a hot iron scissor cutting and burning her stomach, it was the most traumatic experience she ever had, the worst part is nobody believed her even when she had panick atacks years after the surgery, she still remembers how she couldn't move and only prayed for it to be over and when she couldn't take the excruciating pain anymore she begged for her death, my heart just crushes every time I hear that story

[emplegs]

This is literally my biggest fear and I have always been scared to undergo surgery, even if the anesthesiologist is Sued, it doesn’t change the trauma and horror that you went through

[IKEMENOsakaman]

I once woke up during a tooth surgery. It was PAINFUL!

[ItzEyo]

hats off to the person who actually woke up during surgery ouch




Edit:ty for 1.8k likes its the most i have had tysm

[zotic_]

Something weird happened to me too. I was a toddler and I had an ear infection that needed surgery. I remember me screaming, and a man that said something like, “if you keep screaming it will hurt you more.” He wore a mask and the room was some sort of green. I could only see the man, because everything else was out of focus. When I told my mom this about a year ago, she said it was “impossible because I was sleeping.” I am still confused to this day.

[josarz]

The scariest fact is that someone needed to experience this for this video

[rohanbrawlstars]

My mom had a surgery 1 month ago. She met with a road accident. Her toe finger was opened and bone was broken. So doctors did a surgery of 2 hours and put 2 Rods to join the dislocated bone. And in the end stitches. She saw the whole surgery with open eyes. Doctor advised her not to see that but still she saw whole surgery. Now only 1 month left, and the doctor will take out the rod without operation and she'll be absolutely fine and normal.
(During surgery she was given anaesthesia in her right leg only and the rods were inserted with drill machine 😭)

[schoolvideostuff]

I had a surgery on my tooth when I was about seven or eight. I got put under anesthesia, but only a few minutes into the 20 min surgery, I woke up. I remember having my eyes open for a long time, about till the end of the surgery. I don't remember any major pain, though I could hear and see very clearly after a little bit. It was the weirdest feeling.

[giuliagirl]

If possible make next time:
- What if you only eat sour food?
- what happens if you stay in coma for 3 years?
- what happens to your body after you get rabies?
- what if you only eat apples?

[vanilla]

I remember something from my childhood. It's very vague, but I recall it now.
I was getting a minor surgery, so they made sure I fell asleep after the injection, cuz I was just a kid-
I suddenly saw red, blood red, light red, flamingo red, every shade of red you can remember. I remember that there was more blood red, and a ton of flamingo red, I think? Then I felt so much pain, and I started screaming, cuz I didn't know what was happening. I heard muffled voices, and that's it. I just saw the swirls and blends of red. Then I fell back asleep.

[scottclark]

When I was 12 years old I was looking through YouTube one night and I stumbled across a video titled “top 10 people who woke up in the middle of surgery” I did not click on it instead turned my phone off and went to sleep because I was scared. Instantly when I woke up in the morning I remembered seeing the video. during my entire time at school that is all I thought about. and for the next few months the memory of seeing the video scared me and I was so worried that it would one day happen to me but after those few months I calmed down. I am 16 now and every time I see a YouTube video with a similar title I remember that time when I was 12 but I no longer get scared like I used to.

[navyboieatscheese]

During a surgery, I was given this anaesthetic that smelled like strawberries or something, then somehow, I woke up in the middle of the surgery. Saw some white light and heard voices. Then I basically just screamed somehow before I went back to sleep. I think the pain might've lasted longer than expected, not sure tho.

[meneerpeer]

For those scared of this happening, don't worry. Doctors constantly check if your heart rate, brain activity etc. is all normal. They will see it and fix it before you can even wake up.

[justmchael_]

I actually woke up in the middle of a surgery. I was like 5 years old and i didn't panic. Idk i remember saying something like "oh hey i'm already awake :D". But idk if that actually happend. After they noticed i was awake they told me "no no, not yet" and they put me to sleep.

Idk i don't even remember feeling anything 😅.

[RisenPhoenix]

My mom actually just yesterday had surgery on her wrist after breaking it really bad from falling on ice. Didn't even think about the risk if her waking up during the

[someoneyeah]

Ousmane Dembele goes through this every week and no one gives him credit for it, RESPECT

[willharris]

Oh my GOD!! I never knew this!! I woke up during brain surgery! 😰😰. I was terrified. All I can remember was hearing a muffled voice, it was my distressed mum, saying “oh my god, oh my god, get the anethetist, and quick, Will’s woken up during his surgery. Luckily, very luckily, the anethetist arrived within 5 mins of me waking up, so they were able continue with the surgery, and I’m so glad, to be alive today, to tell you guys that story.

[khushi_rajpal]

This reminded me of my surgery which happened in 2021 due to i had ovarian tumour. It was really very painful and i was partially anaesthesialized (lower body only). I couldn't feel the pain and my eyes were covered by surgeons, but they were left a bit open from below and i could see the bright lamp lights and from the reflection of those shiny silver surface of those lights, i could see my abdominal area cutted, my internal organs 😢 i scared so much that i just closed my eyes and just was praying, and after the surgery was done and anaesthesia was over, it was really paining a lot, even after the doses of pain killers, i was screaming. and now after 2 years passed I'm fully recovered and thanking sincerely to the god❤

[heartstsukki]

This is why anesthesia helps. A doctor had to get some of my skin but before she did she injected anesthesia in the spot. It was numb and I felt nothing.

[pips]

This is one of my biggest fears, like imagine the pain and panic