The idea of going in for surgery is terrifying enough for most people, even if it's just something minor.

So imagine feeling a surgeon's knife during an operation because you haven't been properly anaesthetised.

It's the stuff of B-grade horror movies, but it was also the reality for one British woman, who felt her skin being cut during surgery at a hospital in Somerset, England.

The patient, who has not been named, was at Yeovil District Hospital for gynaecological surgery in 2018 when she was given a spinal, rather than general, anaesthetic, the BBC reports.

Surgeon's surprise

"My client was wheeled into the operating theatre under a spinal anaesthetic only," the woman's lawyer Irwin Mitchell told the BBC.

"The surgeon expressed surprise that she was awake for that type of procedure - it was not something he'd seen before.

"This obviously added to her fear and anxiety, which was exacerbated when she started to feel pain during the procedure."

The Yeovil District Hospital in Somerset, England. Credit: Google Street View

The woman began to "scream in agony" after a surgeon cut into her belly button, but said no-one could hear her because her head was behind a curtain and she was wearing an oxygen mask.

She was awake for the entire duration of a laparoscopy.

The hospital has admitted liability for not properly anaesthetising her.

"It's admitted that they could and should have put her under a general anaesthetic at that point to avoid any further pain and trauma," Mitchell said.

Recurring nightmares

The woman said she had had "recurring nightmares" since the surgery and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"I have these images lying on a table with people watching me and not listening to my screams," the woman said.

"It is terrible and I can wake up three times a week due to this.

"I'm also now very nervous and paranoid around doctors too - my trust has just been shattered."

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A spokesperson from the hospital said there had been a "breakdown of communication," The Guardian reports.

"It appears that a breakdown of communication led to the use of a different anaesthetic to that normally required for such an operation," the spokesperson said.

"We are sorry if this patient suffered any distress as a result.

"In a typical year, we carry out more than 15,000 operations, many of them life-saving, and we pride ourselves on the highest possible standards of care and safety."

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