Woman Woke Up With Foreign Accent after Dental Surgery

After undergoing dental surgery, a woman from Oregon did wake up from anesthesia speaking with a foreign accent.

American citizen Karen Butler, a 56 year old resident of the state of Oregon, has woken up speaking with a mixture of Scottish, Irish and N. British accent.

The woman has undergone several tests and the doctors diagnosed her with what is called “foreign accent syndrome”.

This is basically a neurological disorder that is quite rare, and which currently affects around 100 people in the entire world.

The doctors who examined Butler were quite puzzled, since this neurological disorder is generally attributed to people who suffer other kinds of brain damages such as stroke.

Butler has been invited to Meredith Viera’s “Today” show and there she stated that her doctor said there is nothing wrong with her, since her motor skills are intact and there are no problems with her vision.

However, there are quite a few non-believers who say that Butler is actually faking her condition. The dental surgery of Karen Butler took place 18 months ago.

The medical consultant of the “Today” show, Dr. Nancy Synderman has told Viera that based on several reports until now, people who suffer from this condition, will gradually loose the accent.

Moreover the doctor believes that Butler will be put under the care and examination of speech pathologists, who will closely watch how her condition is developing. They will record her voice and analyze and compare it, so that all the changes are properly documented.

On the other hand, Butler says she does not feel frustrated at all by her new condition, and both she and her husband actually enjoy the whole situation, and that the new accent simply feels just like a new toy.