Knee surgery
My husband is 80 years old and has MCI. He may need a partial knee replacement. He would be given a regional anesthetic and we are concerned about further cognitive decline. Not sure what to do.
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Every situation is different. I looked to comfort care with my dad. He had an advance medical directive.Some things that can be considered are is this to treat pain? Can pain be treated in another way? Can he understand why he’ll be in pain and have limited use for a while after surgery? Can he participate in PT? Is he difficult to keep up with and will repairing the knee provide him more stamina to wander?
I thought what you describe is local anesthetic. People with cognition issues sometimes just can’t process what’s happening that well.
I had a growth removed from my cousin’s forehead with light sedation, because it bothered her and she kept rubbing it.
I think it depends on several factors. With MCI is he still active? How much pain is he in? My understanding is that any anesthesia could affect his cognitive decline. Also, there is a lot of strong pain medications to consider. I had a total knee replacement in June and it is a long, painful recovery. 3 months of PT - and then continuing the PT at home.
You say his is a partial replacement, though, so you would need to weigh the pros and cons. It is a hard decision to make. Good luck in your determining process.
Update - I’ve gotten input from two neurologists that my husband has seen and they both said that we should not worry about the knee surgery if the anesthesia is regionalized.