Patient Receives Kidney Transplant While Staying Awake Throughout Operation

Difficult for you to consider undergoing a small surgical procedure as mundane as an extraction of wisdom teeth with a simple local anesthetic? So imagine receiving a kidney transplant and experiencing the entire operation live. Here is the feat achieved by John Nicholas, a 28-year-old American, helped in his mission by the surgical team at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

A medical feat far from trivial

As we learn Live Science, the young man therefore received a new kidney without undergoing general anesthesia, and was able to peacefully return home less than 24 hours after the operation. Typically, kidney transplant patients must wait several days or even a week before leaving the hospital. Although this is not the first time that such a medical feat has been achieved in the world, it is however far from common.

John Nicholas’ health concerns date back several years, reports a hospital press release. When he was a teenager, doctors diagnosed him with Crohn’s disease. Later, when he was 16 years old, routine tests confirmed that his kidney functions were gradually declining.

In 2022, it becomes urgent for the young man to find a donor to carry out a kidney transplant. Her mother was initially supposed to take on this role, but was ultimately diagnosed with breast cancer, incompatible with kidney donation. John Nicholas therefore decides to turn to his group of childhood friends. Pat, his best friend, naturally volunteers and, as luck would have it, the two men are compatible for the transplant.

Also read: A pig kidney transplanted into a living patient, a world first

How did the operation go?

Typically, kidney transplantation requires general anesthesia for the recipient. However, due to his age, his good physical condition and his desire to help medical research, John Nicholas was the ideal candidate to attempt surgery with a “simple” local anesthesia.

During the operation, the surgeons therefore injected him locally with an anesthetic, while being lightly sedated, for his comfort. John Nicholas was therefore in a state of sedation, but without loss of consciousness, throughout the intervention. The surgery lasted less than two hours, without the young man feeling any pain, according to him. During the operation, he even had the chance to see his new kidney in the hands of the surgeon, before he transplanted it.

A solution for anesthesia phobics?

A qualified operation “incredibly simple and uneventful” by Dr. Vicente Garcia Tomas, chief of anesthesia at Northwestern Medicine Hospital.”Not only can awake kidney transplantation help patients who have risks or phobias of general anesthesia, but it can also shorten their hospital stay so they can recover more comfortably at home.“

Several weeks after surgery, John Nicholas is doing like a charm. He is active again, cycling miles every week and can enjoy a less restrictive diet. Before the transplant, the young man had to limit his salt intake, for the good of his kidney functions. He is taking the opportunity today to enjoy his favorite pizza, the hospital press release tells us.