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What Causes Hallucinations After Having A Cervical Nerve Surgery?
Family member had nerve surgery to have five discs fused in his neck. While recouperating he started losing a lot of blood instead Of being able to use the restroom. Put a catheter in him twice and removed a large tumor in his prostrate. 4 surgeries back to back. Lost 30 pds plus a lot of blood. He started hallucinating so they sedated him for 2 days. If he hallucinates once he wakes up they are going to put him in a nursing home for rehab. He s around 76 yrs old. Is this normal? We were told the hallucinations are not from the meds and are just from him not being in his normal environment?
Mon, 11 Feb 2019
Hello,
It seems that your family member is having an episode of delirium. It is a common complication of surgery in the elderly in particular when there is a loss of blood and prolonged stay. Causes are not always well understood, it is most likely a combination of several factors, including a preexisting mild cognitive decline (may be early stages of dementia) which might have gone unnoticed or attributed to age which is worsened and decompensated by loss of blood and change of environment with loss of reference points in his surroundings. Of course, a neurological exam is necessary to make sure complications like stroke are not the cause, at times brain imaging may be needed when in doubt.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Olsi Taka, Neurologist
It seems that your family member is having an episode of delirium. It is a common complication of surgery in the elderly in particular when there is a loss of blood and prolonged stay. Causes are not always well understood, it is most likely a combination of several factors, including a preexisting mild cognitive decline (may be early stages of dementia) which might have gone unnoticed or attributed to age which is worsened and decompensated by loss of blood and change of environment with loss of reference points in his surroundings. Of course, a neurological exam is necessary to make sure complications like stroke are not the cause, at times brain imaging may be needed when in doubt.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Olsi Taka, Neurologist
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