Showing posts with label surgery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label surgery. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Surgery Considerations for those with Kennedy's Disease

This topic has come to the surface again. A friend who is currently in the hospital discussed his concerns of using certain anesthesia after receiving some information from a doctor familiar with Kennedy's Disease.

"Important:  A known issue has been reported by Dr. Neil Porter. Do not used  SUCCINYLCHOLINE (generic name). Brand names include Anectine and Quelicin.  Please have your medical file updated.This drug could be life threatening for a person with Kennedy's Disease."


Certain types of anesthesia have been known to cause or create problems for those of us living with this condition. There is an entire page on the KDA website on this subject. Also on this page are several other items to discuss with your doctor and anesthesiologist prior to surgery.

The key message is to make the surgery team aware of your condition and to provide them with information on possible issues with certain anesthetics and also on potential post-surgery concerns.

When I was scheduled for surgery several years ago to repair a broken tibia and fibula, I brought in a copy of the webpage mentioned above. After my doctor read the information and discussed it with the anesthesiologist, they decided on a different course of action.