Wide awake Hand Surgery

Wide awake hand surgery without any tourniquet (tight band to block the blood flow and can be painful to the  patients) has several benefits and a few of these are:

  1. 1)    No need for a general anaesthetic as this has increased risk in a post COVID world
  2. 2)    Patients can eat and drink before the procedure
  3. 3)    No need for ‘baby-sitting’ services which are needed after a GA
  4. 4)    Most of the patients on blood thinning medication can have a surgery
  5. 5)    No problems of urine retention after a general anaesthetic 
  6. 6)    Generates almost 10 times less waste during the operation which decreases the carbon footprint of the operation and is an opportunity to create an eco-friendly surgical practice- ‘Green hand surgery’
  7. 7)    Smaller teams in theatres- ‘Lean hand surgery’.  Decreasing traffic of teams in surgical practice minimises infection risk and also is extremely relevant in a COVID world.
  8. 8)    This lean and green movement in hand surgery is very relevant to reduce cost of surgery and making it more affordable for the wider population without compromising safety. This transformative surgical care model has a remarkable potential to improve care and improve overall patient experience.  
  9. 9)    Gives greater independence and empowerment to my patients to have procedures especially if there is not much family support
  10. 10)    This has been the corner stone of my initiative of developing outpatient based hand surgery.