Hand surgery while you are awake

You will feel touch and pressure, not pain.

The local anaesthetic blocks the pain nerves completely. You may be aware of pushing or pulling.

And you can say so at any moment. We can add more anaesthetic within seconds, because we are right there and you are able to tell us. This is one of its genuine advantages.

For many hand operations, awake surgery is safer.

No breathing tube, no anaesthetic drugs, no fasting, no nausea, no grogginess, no need for someone to take you home. For older patients and those with heart or chest problems, this matters a great deal.

It also costs considerably less.

There is no tourniquet in this technique.

The anaesthetic contains adrenaline, which keeps the field clear without squeezing the arm. The tourniquet is what most people who have had older-style hand surgery remember as the painful part — and it is simply absent.

You cannot see the surgery, and most people find it becomes ordinary within minutes.

A screen separates you from the field. You can listen to music, talk to us, or simply lie quietly.

And there is one thing awake surgery allows that no other method does: we can ask you to move your finger during the operation and watch the repair working. For tendon surgery and trigger finger that is a real advantage — we know it is right before we close.