surgery

Anesthesia Specifics for PPS

Selma Calmes, MD, (ret) anesthesiologist

1. Post-polio patients are nearly always very sensitive to sedative meds, and emergence can be prolonged. This is probably due to central neuronal changes, especially in the Reticular Activating System, from the original disease.

Question: What to do about a bursa?

In mid-August 2016, I bumped my right elbow on the bar of my wheelchair, and it hurt a lot for a few days. But it wasn’t till late September that I developed a bursa. The nurse practitioner at our doctor’s office drained it, but it filled back up. When I went there the following week she didn’t want to drain it again without sending me to an orthopedist.

More on the Mayo Clinic Study of Anesthesia in Post-Polio Patients

Selma H. Calmes, MD, anesthesiologist (retired), Olive View/UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, California

Cortisone? Surgery?

Post-Polio Health, Volume 29, Number 2, Spring 2013
Ask Dr. Maynard
Frederick M. Maynard, MD

Question: Several years ago my right ankle muscles gave out after a cortisone shot. I wear a brace to steady this leg. Now, after two bad falls, my left hip will need replacement. My current orthopedic physician wanted to give me a cortisone shot, and I refused, recalling the reaction from my ankle.

Rotator Cuff Surgery

Post-Polio Health, Volume 27, Number 3, Summer 2011
Ask Dr. Maynard
Frederick M. Maynard, MD

Question: I have a severe rotator cuff tear and an orthopedic surgeon has recommended a shoulder replacement because of the severity of the tear and the presence of significant arthritis. I had polio in my right leg and use my left leg to lift/stabilize myself on crutches.

Frightened of Cortisone and Surgery

Post-Polio Health, Volume 29, Number 2, Spring 2013
Ask Dr. Maynard
Frederick M. Maynard, MD

Breast Reduction Surgery?

Post-Polio Health, Volume 28, Number 3, Summer 2012
Ask Dr. Maynard
Frederick M. Maynard, MD

Question: I had polio in 1948, and I am now 65. Adapting was less difficult due to the helpful information gathered at support group meetings. However, I am not finding information or answers that address this issue: Has breast reduction and surgical reduction of abdominal fat been suggested and utilized with other post-polio women?

Facing Surgery/Decreasing Fears

Mickie McGraw, Ventilator-Assisted Living, Volume 29, Number 4

Over the past ten years, I have faced several surgeries including gall bladder removal, a mastectomy and kidney stone removal. As a person with significant respiratory weakness resulting from polio, I often found I had more concerns about complications related to my breathing than most other aspects of the surgeries. I contracted polio in 1953 and have used some sort of nocturnal ventilation from the outset - I currently use a PLV-100 positive pressure ventilator with an Oracle face mask to sleep.

Anesthesia

Modern anesthesia has become extremely safe, but many survivors fear it because of reports of problems during and after anesthesia. Potential problems include a greater sensitivity to the paralyzing drugs (muscle relaxants), possible need for mechanical ventilation after surgery, and pain problems after surgery. All survivors, especially those with a history of respiratory involvement, need to tell their surgeon and anesthesiologist about having had polio (Calmes, 1997).

Anesthesia and colonoscopy

Selma H. Calmes MD, Retired Anesthesiologist

Many polio patients fear anesthesia. Multiple surgeries in childhood were common for those who had polio and anesthesia care then was not as sophisticated as it is today. Modern anesthesia is much improved since the time of polio epidemics! In this session, an anesthesiologist familiar with modern anesthesia practice and polio will answer recent, common questions asked by post-polio patients. If time, the audience can ask their own questions.

Opportunities to Participate in Research

NEW STUDY ON AFM AND POLIO A new study concerning acute flaccid myelitis (AFM... More

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surgery