Patient awake during kidney transplant says procedure is ‘pretty cool’ | US News [Video]

A kidney transplant patient who was awake for the entire time during his surgery saw his new organ before receiving it and called it ‘pretty cool’.

John Nicholas, 28, was the first patient of Northwestern Medicine to be awake during his transplant, and said he did not feel any pain and was discharged from a hospital in a mere 24 hours.

‘It was a pretty cool experience to know what was happening in real time and be aware of the magnitude of what they were doing,’ said Nicholas, according to Northwestern Medicine.

Nicholas we given a spinal epidural similar to what is used in a cesarean section, instead of general anesthesia. He also received light sedation and a nerve block.

‘Inside the operating room, it was an incredible experience being able to show a patient what their new kidney looked like before placing it inside the body,’ transplant surgeon Satish Nadig, who …