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The Gem Brochos 54b says

ארבעה צריכין להודות:יורדי הים, הולכי מדברות ומי שהיה חולה ונתרפא ומי שהיה חבוש בבית האסורים

Four types of people have to give thanks … sick people who were healed

Medical practice includes prophylactic procedures. Surgery, for example, can be instituted to remove a potential threat to the patient's health even though the patient exhibits no symptoms now.

Is there discussion in the poskim whether a prophylactic procedure on a patient without symptoms is sufficient cause to necessitate “bensching gomel” = Blessing of Thanksgiving ?

Kazi bácsi
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Avrohom Yitzchok
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    I would think that just undergoing surgery is dangerous enough that one would be able to bentch gomel. – Scimonster Nov 03 '15 at 11:56
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    I was told it was any time the patient is under general, regardless of the reason. – rosends Nov 03 '15 at 14:00
  • @Danno Who told you please? Did he give a source? – Avrohom Yitzchok Nov 03 '15 at 14:07
  • @AvrohomYitzchok it was 16 years ago - I don't remember which person told me, but he wasn't issuing a psak to a shailah. He was passing along info that he "knew." – rosends Nov 03 '15 at 14:08
  • @AvrohomYitzchok check this link http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/115308/jewish/The-Laws-of-the-Blessing-of-Thanksgiving.htm and look in the comments for the word "surgery". The question asked mentions only the general, not the nature of the surgery. – rosends Nov 03 '15 at 14:12
  • @AvrohomYitzchok General anesthesia is being in an actively dangerous health position. – Double AA Nov 03 '15 at 14:50
  • @DoubleAA See http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Anaesthetic-general/Pages/Definition.aspx. "Side effects General anaesthetics have some common side effects. Your anaesthetist should discuss these with you before your surgery." These can hardly be described as "actively dangerous health position." "Complications and risks A number of more serious complications are associated with general anaesthetics. These are rare, occurring in less than 1 in every 10,000 cases." Is 1 in 10,000 enough to justify "gomel"? – Avrohom Yitzchok Nov 03 '15 at 15:07
  • @AvrohomYitzchok How many health problems will result if the anesthesiologist would leave the room and forget to come back? Just because you have someone there trained to get you out of the mess doesn't mean you aren't in one. – Double AA Nov 03 '15 at 15:18
  • http://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/36031/440 – Yishai Nov 03 '15 at 17:55
  • http://healthland.time.com/2011/08/04/under-the-knife-study-shows-rising-death-rates-from-general-anesthesia/ – Yishai Nov 03 '15 at 17:56
  • http://www.halachayomit.co.il/EnglishDisplayRead.asp?ReadID=1819 – Gershon Gold Nov 12 '15 at 19:02

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Echoing @rosends comment above, any surgery under general anaesthetic requires Bircas HaGomel.

In Nishmas Avraham, Vol. 1, 219:2 it writes:

ואמר לי הגר"ע אויערבאך שליט"א שחמיו הגרי"ש אלישיב שליט"א פוסק שאין לברך בכל ניתוח אלא רק בניתוח תחת הרדמת כללית

And HaGaon Rav Azriel Auerbach shlita said to me that his father-in-law HaGaon Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv shlita (now zt"l) paskened that one doesn't make a bracha (of hagomel) on every operation, but rather only on an operation that is under a general anaesthetic.

(Interesting to note: look at the beginning of os/se'if beis where it mentions that Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt"l paskens that even if one is just having cauterization of the heart that requires no action other than the implementation of a balloon one benches Hagomel - I imagine that this too would require at least a general anaesthetic).

Dov
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