Wednesday , December 25 2024

Kidney transplant done on patient while he was awake, discharged the next day

Chicago: For the first time, doctors of Indian origin at Northwestern Medicine Hospital in Chicago, USA, performed a kidney transplant on a patient in a conscious state. 28-year-old patient John Nichols was discharged from the hospital the next day after a two-hour surgery for kidney transplant. Nichols said that he did not feel any pain. Instead of giving general anesthesia, Indian doctor Dr. Satish Nadig injected anesthesia into the patient's spine, due to which the patient's body became numb below the waist.

After completing this surgery on May 24, the doctor gave information about this new method in a press conference in the presence of the patient last Monday. The kidney transplant surgery was performed at the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive Transplant Center under the supervision of Indian transplant surgeon Dr. Satish Nadig, transplant surgeon Vinayak Rohan and anesthesiologist Dr. Vincent Garcia Thomas.

Dr. Satish Nadig said, “We hope that awake kidney transplant will reduce the risks associated with general anesthesia and the patient will not need to stay in the hospital for a long time.” The patient is usually kept in the hospital for seven days after kidney transplant surgery. In this case, the patient was discharged from the hospital within 24 hours of the operation.

Anesthesiologist Dr. Vincent said that general anesthesia remains a health hazard for patients who have brain, heart and lung problems. We have been able to avoid the risks associated with general anesthesia by using spinal anesthetics for kidney transplantation. Now for those who want to undergo such surgery, AWAKE i.e. Accelerated Surgery Without General Anesthesia in Kidney Transplantation Program will be started.

John Nicholas, 28, who had a kidney transplant, had been suffering from Crohn's disease since the age of 16. He did not receive any treatment for this problem for years but in 2022 his kidneys stopped working and he needed a kidney transplant. His childhood friend Pat Wise, 29, donated a kidney to John when his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and was unable to donate a kidney.

Dr. Nadig said that before the operation, John was given an injection in the spinal cord, which numbed the part below his waist. After this, he was fully conscious during the kidney transplant operation that lasted for two hours. I even removed his kidney and showed it to him. This was the first time I got the opportunity to show a patient his organ in this way. It is because of John that major progress has been possible in transplant surgery.

Nicholas said that it was an exciting moment for me to see my kidney in the doctor's hands. The operation was completed in less than two hours and I kept listening to the doctor during the operation. During the entire operation, Nicholas had no sensation below the waist. Nicholas did not feel any pain during the surgery and was discharged from the hospital the next day.