&gt; I wonder to what extent I&#x27;m stressing myself out over a very uncommon occurrence.<p>Probably too much.  Modern medicine actually does work for the vast majority of people--&quot;Hospital does 42 surgeries today--all of them went just fine&quot; never gets reported.  However, humans are biological organisms with lots of variations.  Exceptions <i>always</i> exist.<p>If you&#x27;ve gone under more than once without complications, you&#x27;re probably mostly in the clear.  It means that a whole host of things that can go wrong have already been screened against.  One of the big ones is having a problem with your pseudocholinesterase but no family history to tip off the anesthesiologist that this might be an issue (I think they screen for this now).<p>As you point out, the issue is also &quot;if available&quot;.  In your case, it&#x27;s what needs to be done, so don&#x27;t stress over it.  The complications of <i>NOT</i> doing it are far worse for you, as you point out.  However, too many people just go &quot;put me out&quot; without the idea that, yes, complications do occur and, really, less invasive is almost always better.