Is it true you can get brain damage from anesthesia?

No, not when the...: Anesthesia is properly administered by a trained anesthesiologist or crna. General anesthesia today is much safer than in the past, and most of the agents used are very short acting. All vital signs are continuously monitored during almost all anesthetic administrations and complications are extremely rare.

Yes, you can: If the anesthetic is not administered correctly or complications occur from surgery (esp neuro surgery). But rarely does this happen during routine surgery and general anesthesia by itself does not cause brain injury. The key is to go to a reputable surgicenter or hospital.

Not a normal outcome: Injuries to the brain can be caused by many things including hypoxia, hyper/hypotension, and hypercoagilanility. Anesthesiologists are trained to avoid and prevent these problems.

No, but: The anesthetics do not damage the brain, however if you a have decrease in your blood pressure or oxygenation of the blood this could adversely affect your brain. This is precisely what you anesthesiologist is trained to manage.

No: Except in the extremes of age (new-borns and the very old) anesthesia has no know lasting effects.