Anesthesia for Minor Surgery
Original Post: I have to have surgery on my eyelid. They want to give me local anesthesia. When I have local anesthesia for dentistry it wears off very quickly. Will it do the same with the eyelid? Why does this happen to polio survivors? Last time I had dental work done, they had to do a nerve block because the Novocain kept wearing off.
Dr. Bruno’s Response: In our first research study of polio survivors we found that they were twice as sensitive to pain as people didn't have polio. The poliovirus killed off the neurons that generate the body's own morphine.
A lack of effectiveness of typical doses of local anesthetic, and the anesthetic wearing off too quickly, are typical in polio survivors. If your doctor uses Xylocaine 1%, have a conversation about them using Marcaine 2% instead.
Look under the topic of “Anesthesia” in the articles section of the Encyclopedia of Polio and PPS.