Glad your dad finally has a diagnosis...not that it will change anything, but at least now you know what caused the symptoms.

You didn't mention what form of myotonia he has (Thomsen's or Becker's). I'm going to assume from what you wrote that it is Thomsen's which is the dominant form (only takes one gene to pass it on) because we tend to have more trouble with swallowing and facial muscles.

If he does have Thomsen's, then it is very possible that you inherited it - there would be a 50% chance. Even if you have no symptoms at all, you could still have the defective gene and you could have very serious side effects from anesthesia.

Because of your upcoming surgery, the best thing would be to see if you can get an EMG scheduled as soon as possible. That will tell them whether you inherited the MC. If it is positive, then your anesthesiologist will need to take special precautions to avoid a condition called malignant hyperthermia. He will also have to monitor your potassium levels very carefully during the surgery and if possible, the operating table should be warmed.

If you can't get an EMG done in time, then I would advise the anesthesiologist to use non-triggering anesthesia and just treat you as if you had MC. My mother has no symptoms at all, and yet she had cardiac arrest during surgery because of the defective gene. It's worth taking the extra precautions.

As to whether your children have MC, that would also have to be determined by testing. If you don't have it, then they won't.

I'm so glad you found the site and asked questions...the doctors were wrong that it isn't a factor in your surgery! If the anesthesia is done correctly, you should have no trouble during recovery. In my family those of us with MC seem to heal very quickly with no complications and even a lower requirement for pain meds.

Please let us know how your surgery goes and feel free to ask any questions.

Jan