Anesthesia failure that allows a patient to wake up during surgery, paralyzed and unable to cry for help, occurs 100 times a day in the USA, a study reports Monday.
The rate is similar to those documented by previous international studies, but many doctors have long questioned the prevalence. This is the first time in more than 30 years that the problem has been quantified in U.S. hospitals.
USA Today October 13, 2003