A doctor has ranked some of the most painful operations that you can have, including one which is a surprisingly common procedure.
We've certainly come a long way from the days of 'pain management' consisting of a swig of brandy and biting down on a leather strip, but that doesn't mean that surgeries don't still come with a lot of pain and discomfort.
Keyhole surgery is also a big factor in reducing pain, as if doctors need to remove a kidney for example they don't have to cut a big hole in your side anymore, they can use a much smaller hole to get the job done.
Dr Dean Eggitt is a consultant primary care physician, and ranked the procedures that he thinks are the most painful out there, though doctors and post-surgery medics such as physios do everything they can to help minimise the pain.
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Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: "While everyone will experience pain differently, there are definitely some procedures that are more painful than others like spinal fusion, open chest surgery and total knee replacement.
"All of these procedures disrupt bones and nerves and cannot have total immobilisation afterwards. So while the actual surgery might not be too painful, the extensive physiotherapy required for full recovery can be very painful."
Bone marrow biopsy
A biopsy is where doctors take a tissue sample from your body so they examine it and come up with a diagnosis, and bone marrow cells are also particularly useful as stem cells.
While a biopsy might be relatively painless with a skin sample, it's a different matter entirely when they have to take something from literally inside your bones, as surgeons have to insert a needle into the bone and extract the liquid bone marrow cells.
And guess what - you are awake while they do this.
There is a local anaesthetic, but you might feel a 'pulling' sensation', as well as aches for days afterwards, and a puncture wound and bruising.
Lumbar puncture
This is also known by a different name - a spinal tap.
A lumbar puncture is another procedure which involves sticking needles into your bones, except this time it's into your spine.
And to make it even more distressing - you actually have to be awake for this to even work. It's carried out to collect spinal fluid, or to administer anaesthetics.
Patients can often have headaches, bleeding, swelling, as well as long-term back pain, as well as nerve damage which in itself can lead to losing the feeling your arms and legs, double vision, blood clots, and loss of hearing.
Open-heart surgery
This one probably doesn't come as much of a surprise.
Fortunately, this is done under anaesthesia, but the need to get through the ribcage to access the heart means it can take 12 weeks to recover.
The surgery impacts on your ligaments, breastbone, and healing of wounds, but it does get better with time.
Hysteroscopy
This is inserting a device into the womb to examine its interior, with the '-oscopy' suffix indicating that like a 'gastroscopy' being the same but down your throat, and 'colonoscopy' being the other end.
Many patients who have this procedure have called it 'unbearable', with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists saying that around a third of patients rated the pain as seven out of ten or above, and advises that local or general anaesthetic should be offered.
Total knee replacement
This is the common procedure which can be extremely painful.
Joints in general have more that go wrong, what with there being moving parts, but with knees there's the added element that they also have to be strong enough to take your whole body weight.
And to make it worse, you also need to be very proactive after surgery to make sure that you can get the benefit.
"The best thing you can do to help recover from a total knee replacement is to pre-plan," Dr Eggitt said.
"Don’t just think about painkillers but also seating, sleeping arrangements and daily activities.
"But it won't be pain free as the procedure is hugely traumatic to both bones and nerves."
Topics: News, Health, World News
Kit Roberts