Susanne77, don't over think it... it is not unusual as we get older to have some brain fog after having any type of anesthesia.
Thus if your Mom didn't have memory issues prior to surgery she is probably just dealing with the fog.... it happened to me [68] couple of months ago after I had my own surgery.... one hour of surgery, one month for the fog to finally lift.
As bectwin1 stated I would definitely check out a possible infection. My mom (83) has alzheimers and before Christmas fell and suffered a concussion which limited her ability to speak and walk. Slowly she was beginning to walk with a walker and her speech had improved, then suddenly she was no longer walking and speaking with one word answers. She had an ulcer on top of her foot. First doctor looked at it and just said elevate but to see a podiatrist. She had an infection from a spider or bug bite. In one week she has improved unbelievably with a week of antibiotics. Having small conversations and walking with a walker again!!
You shouldn't worry about interfering. You should asses their situation and take necessary measures. Is your father able to care for her? She may need some home visits from an rn for awhile. My mom has been through several medical procedures in the past couple of years. A couple weeks of home health care visits was a great help to get her back on her feet.
Definitely report it to her doctor. The above comments are very true but there is also a risk of a low grade infection following surgery. This can present as confusion and may be as simple as a urinary tract infection.
there is an often quoted truism (I have no idea how true it is) that for every hour of anethesia that an elder under, it takes a month to recover. So, 4 hours=4 months of recovery .
In any event, I would mention her symptoms to her regular doctor (hopefully, she's seeing a geriatrics doctor, if not, you might want to investigate getting her to one).
Often times there is a profound effect on cognition caused by anesthesia given during surgeries. Sometimes they return to normal, sometimes not. My Mom had a significant cognitive decline following a hysterectomy due to uterine cancer when she was 81. There were memory issues before the surgery, but we all preferred our denial, and maybe her illness at that time simply caused us to pay more attention to what was going on. Mom is still alive and knowing now what we should have known then, may have been wise to forgo the hysterectomy as cancers move quite slowly in the elderly many times.
Thus if your Mom didn't have memory issues prior to surgery she is probably just dealing with the fog.... it happened to me [68] couple of months ago after I had my own surgery.... one hour of surgery, one month for the fog to finally lift.
In any event, I would mention her symptoms to her regular doctor (hopefully, she's seeing a geriatrics doctor, if not, you might want to investigate getting her to one).