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Patients' Experiences During Carotid Endarterectomy Performed Under Local Anesthesia
Purpose:
To describe patients' experiences undergoing a carotid endarterectomy (CEA) under local anesthesia.
Design:
Explorative qualitative design.
Methods:
Semistructured interviews with 15 participants who had undergone CEA under local anesthesia, analyzed by content analysis.
Findings:
Undergoing CEA under local anesthesia entails enduring stress with no possibility of withdrawal. Patients' lack of understanding of local anesthesia and experiencing pain and discomfort caused feelings of stress. The surgery resulted in a loss of control; patients had to surrender their autonomy to someone else. The nurse anesthetist was the link to the world outside the operating room (OR), and that nurse conveyed feelings of safety and security during the surgery.
Conclusions:
Patients' experiences ranged from being pleased with the surgical procedure and local anesthesia to vowing never to undergo such a procedure again. It is important to focus on the patients' experiences and feelings when choosing a method of anesthesia.