Episiotomy without anaesthesia?

[KLPM]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this question. I haven't had any formal experience with obstetrics yet. I have been hearing a lot of stories from my colleagues about episiotomies without any form of anaesthesia.

Is this common? Is this acceptable? Just curious really.

 

[p30doc]

Ouch 🙁

 

[Idiopathic]

certainly can happen, especially if you elect to have a natural delivery. you may have a perineal tear or laceration or the obstetrician may decide to do an episiotomy to avoid a tear.

 

[gasblaster]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this question. I haven't had any formal experience with obstetrics yet. I have been hearing a lot of stories from my colleagues about episiotomies without any form of anaesthesia.

Is this common? Is this acceptable? Just curious really.

Not even a nerve block? or local?

It would be really hard for anyone to tolerate an episiotomy without any anesthesia.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Not even a nerve block? or local?

It would be really hard for anyone to tolerate an episiotomy without any anesthesia.

Not necessarily. It depends on when its done. If its done when the baby is crowning, most women will tell you they feel nothing and many aren't even aware it was done (if not told).

 

[Impromptu]

As a med student I saw it done on a push right near the end. The OB didn't let her know what he was doing and it probably blended right into the rest of the pain.

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

certainly can happen, especially if you elect to have a natural delivery. you may have a perineal tear or laceration or the obstetrician may decide to do an episiotomy to avoid a tear.

Not necessarily. It depends on when its done. If its done when the baby is crowning, most women will tell you they feel nothing and many aren't even aware it was done (if not told).

Definitely.

 

[Idiopathic]

Not even a nerve block? or local?

It would be really hard for anyone to tolerate an episiotomy without any anesthesia.

usually at the point where this happens, a watermelon is exiting the canal, so there are other sensations that may be masking or dulling the pain

 

[urge]

I did one without local as an intern, being coached by a senior resident. Woman got startled and asked "what was that?" It blended with the pain but she still noticed something was off.

 

[gasblaster]

I guess my experience as a med student was different. I only saw 1 or 2 of the attedings do episiotomies and they were well-known for their frequency of using it. They would typically do pre-emptive nerve blocks. Patients would still occasionally have pain during and most notibly on suturing aftewards.

 

[Idiopathic]

i think the take home is that it is never (rarely) done intentionally without analgesia. occasionally this is an urgent or emergent procedure and needs to be done before better analgesia can be obtained.