I just watched "Awake", a movie that just came out about anethesia awareness and the same situation occured with me. I was stabbed in the heart lung and spleen and had to be operated on. i was intoxicated at the time so i think that it must have had some effect on the anesthesia, it's crazy though i was basically paralyzed but i could hear everything (people talking) and feel everything i can't remember the pain so much anymore because it was so long ago but at the time of the operation it seemed like the worst pain imaginable i first felt the scalple then heard the saw and felt the saw cut into my sternum i think i finally passed out or "went under" from either the pain or anxiety of the whole situation i do remember the pressure from the saw it was unbelievable i can also remember screaming for them to stop and wanting to die. anyway sorry for the scary story it was just weird watching this movie because it was so exact to what i felt and what happened to me. i guess my question would be does this happen more commonly with open heart surgeries and does alcohol or the fact that i had shots of adrenaline before the anesthesia mean anything? Also does this happen mostly in trauma cases because everything is unplanned? it sounds like the person above me answered my question -oops!