One of the procedures that we often do in the ER is a “conscious sedation”. So far I’ve seen this done for placement of a central line and reductions (aka popping bones back into place). Patients are given a sedative, and instead of being completely out of out it, they stay semi-awake. They will respond to questions, and sometimes grimace a little from pain, but from what I understand most people never remember the procedure.
This last weekend we had a patient who had taken a nasty spill on his bicycle. He had broken and displaced several bones in his wrist and hand. We performed a conscious sedation so that the orthopedist could try and manipulate the bones back into normal alignment. The hope is that the bones pop back into place and reduce or eliminate surgery.
Anyway, I was in the room as my physician administered the sedative. As the patient was drifting into his semi-conscious state, he said something that got a nice chuckle from everyone in the room.
“I feel like I’m back in the 60′s!”
I need to start a quote-book or something.
