Are dad's risk of stroke or complications under anestesia greater than normal?

A fellow caregiver asked...

hello, My father had an Ischemic right Middle cerebral artery stroke in last August due to 2 month Aspirin off and after that he has been doing well ever since but last week he had a post stroke seizure and the reason of this seizure was the reduced amount of Valproic acid in blood. he is taking Aspirin plus clopidogrel drug, anticonvulsant drugs (Epival 250mg , Topiramate )and Ropinirole etc. he has gallstone of about 9 cm and doctor advised him to go Laparoscopy but The neurophysician says it's too risky. Is his risk of stroke or other complications under anesthesia significantly greater? gallstone is creating many complication for pancreas and liver.My father had pancreatitis in last year and still he has a little elevated serum Lipase and amylase and also have low SGPT enzyme and high gamma GT .... please guide me what should i do ???

Expert Answer

James Castle, M.D. is a neurologist at NorthShore University HealthSystem (affiliated with The University of Chicago) and an expert on strokes.

Sorry to hear about your situation.

In general, I would start by saying that this sounds like a very complicated situation, so I would have to defer to your father's doctors who undoubtedly know much more about the specifics.

That said, in cases where someone clearly needs a surgery, you often have to go ahead with the procedure even if there are risks. There is an elevated risk of stroke during a surgery, but every decision in life involves risks and benefits, and this is no different. I think you should have a sit-down discussion with all the involved physicians - including the Neurologist and Surgeon - and decide given all the risks and benefits, whether or not it would best to proceed. Simply giving a blanket statement of "surgery contraindicated due to stroke risk" is not good enough, the discussion has to be more involved.

Sorry I can't be of more help, but again, this sounds quite complex and requires input from all of father's physicians.