Many hand surgeons are moving away from traditional surgery to an approach that utilizes wide-awake local anesthesia.In this segment, Dr.Naoh Shaftel, explains hand/wrist surgery utilizing a local anesthesia for certain procedures. The patient is wide awake during the surgery and can fully cooperate with the physician during the procedure. The patient may be able to drive themselves to and from their surgery and there are limited side effects compared to general anesthesia. In addition, patients may be able to cut down on pain pills needed after surgery as patients might have pain relief just hours after surgery.
