None of these patients wanted to have an anaesthetic. They all wanted or needed to have an operation. But to do so, they had to have some form of anaesthetic and they all had questions. Some, like John, had only a few. Others, like Matthew, wanted to understand the advantages and disadvantages of various anaesthetic options in considerable detail. Here are their stories:

• Erik - haemorrhoidectomy
• John - lung cancer
• Lily - obstetric
• Nicola - infant hernia
• Richard - hip replacement
• Monique - hysterectomy
• Mahmoud - enlarged tonsils and adenoids