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 is the benefit?
In some cases general anaesthesia isn’t possible, or carries more risk, so this might open up new opportunities. Here is a bit from the article:
"Now that John’s broken the ceiling, we can offer it to patients who have lung disease, or are older or have heart disease that may pose a higher risk for general anesthesia to make a recovery for them much safer,” Nadig said.
