Millions of people around the country now use medical cannabis. That inevitably means some of them will have questions about medical cannabis and surgery. Can they use prior to surgery? How about afterward? How much do surgeons and anesthesiologists need to know about medical cannabis consumption?
A general rule suggests that patients be completely upfront and honest about medical cannabis consumption prior to surgery. Surgeons and anesthesiologists need all the details of a patient’s medical past and present in order to pull off a safe and successful surgical procedure. Hiding details could actually endanger a patient’s life.
Medical Cannabis Concerns
From a surgeon’s perspective, there are legitimate concerns relating to medical cannabis. First and foremost is an elevated cardiovascular risk. Cannabis actually increases both heart rate and blood pressure. That could create dangerous complications during surgery.
Other concerns include:
- Anesthesia Response – Regular medical cannabis consumption could alter the way a patient responds to anesthesia. For example, tolerance may dictate a higher dose of anesthesia to knock a patient out.
- Postoperative Pain – It’s not unusual for regular cannabis users to report higher postoperative pain scores. Higher scores impact the medications a doctor recommends for pain management.
- Cannabis Intoxication – Surgical guidelines recommend postponing surgery if a patient arrives displaying signs of cannabis intoxication. It’s just not safe to do surgery until after intoxication symptoms have worn off.
All of this suggests informing the surgeon and anesthesiologist about medical cannabis consumption prior to surgery. In most cases, a patient will be able to continue medicating up until a day or two before a scheduled procedure.
Post Procedure Medical Cannabis
Medical cannabis poses a considerably lower risk after surgery. And in fact, it might even help. Consider postoperative pain.
Salt Lake City’s Beehive Farmacy, a medical cannabis dispensary with locations in Salt Lake City and Brigham City, says state lawmakers added acute pain to Utah’s qualifying conditions list a couple of years ago. The addition was designed specifically to help surgical patients.
In cases where patients were expecting to experience significant acute pain for which their surgeons would otherwise recommend opioid painkillers, patients can apply for medical cannabis cards instead. A card would allow one to use medical cannabis instead of opioids or as a supplement to them.
General Recommendations Before Surgery
Most of the concerns relating to medical cannabis and surgery are rooted in how cannabis might directly affect a procedure. So to maintain safety at the highest levels, surgeons and anesthesiologists tend to recommend the following:
- Cease Consumption – Medical guidelines suggest ceasing cannabis consumption at least 72 hours before an elective procedure. If the more conservative deadline isn’t met, patients should absolutely not consume within 2 hours of surgery.
- Avoid on the Day Of – It is advised that patients avoid all medical cannabis on the day of surgery. This includes after the procedure, except under the advice of a doctor.
- Alternate Strategies – Patients are encouraged to speak with their healthcare providers about alternate strategies for managing the symptoms they normally treat with medical cannabis. Some might be safer until well after surgery.
Patients should only resume using medical cannabis after a thorough postoperative evaluation by a surgeon. Even if a patient chooses medical cannabis over opioid painkillers, they should not begin a cannabis regimen without being examined first.
Medical cannabis is considered safe under normal circumstances. But surgical procedures are unusual medical events. They need to be treated as such. If you are a medical cannabis patient looking at elective surgery in the future, be sure to discuss the implications with your doctor, surgeon, and anesthesiologist.