Wide-awake heart surgery

Swaroup Anand, 23, from Bangalore, is fully conscious as he undergoes open-heart surgery. An epidural to the neck, administered at the city’s Wockhardt Hospital, has numbed his body. Dr Vivek Jawali pioneered the technique ten years ago and has recently released a tutorial on DVD which gives a step-by-step guide to the procedure – sorry, but you can only get a copy if you’re a surgeon or an anaesthetist. Wired doesn’t recommend you try this at home.

Open-heart surgery in seven easy steps

1. Insert an epidural catheter into the patient the day before the operation.

2. Patient to theatre. Administer a test dose of the epidural below the nape of the neck.

3. Give the patient the full dose and wait 20 minutes for all sensation from the chest to be blocked. Test by prodding the patient’s skin with a needle.

4. Open breastbone using electric saw.

5. Main surgery.

6. Close the breastbone with steel wire and close skin.

7. Transfer patient to intensive care.

http://www.wired.co.uk/wired-magazine/archive/2010/02/start/wide-awake-h...