A medical team in the U.S. has performed a rare kidney transplant during which the patient was awake throughout the procedure and was discharged the next day.
This young man volunteered to undergo the procedure even though he didn’t have to.
It’s not like he got a kidney transplant for funsies. He needed a kidney transplant. He just didn’t need to be awake for it.
Nicolas was first diagnosed with chronic kidney disease during high school in 2013. After moving to Chicago in 2022, his kidney function had deteriorated and doctors at Northwestern told him he needed to get a transplant.
The Northwestern team picked him as a candidate for the awake transplant because he was young, otherwise healthy and also willing to go ahead with it.
This young man volunteered to undergo the procedure even though he didn’t have to.
Proving this works paves the way for surgeries where general anesthesia isn’t an option for whatever reason.
They gave him a spinal epidural, let him pick the music, and got started on surgery.
My uncle’s pushing seventy and had a hip replacement he described like a magic act.
It’s great that general anesthesia is becoming optional, but frankly, I’d rather be under in both cases.
what if the patient decides, for whatever reasons, they want to stop mid way?
It’s not like he got a kidney transplant for funsies. He needed a kidney transplant. He just didn’t need to be awake for it.