Doctors perform kidney transplant on 'fully awake' man in US

In a miraculous medical achievement, the doctors were able to perform a kidney transplant successfully on a man who was awake throughout the procedure in the United States.

The man, identified as John Nicholas, on May 24 became the first to have gone through a kidney transplant with general anaesthetic at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. He was discharged the next day.

This is not the first time this procedure has been used worldwide, however, it is far from routine.

In 24 hours, the doctors discharged the 28-year-old man. This was superfast in comparison to kidney transplant patients remaining at the hospital for nearly a week.

During the surgery of Nicholas, an anaesthetic was injected into the fluid which was surrounding the lower spinal cord by the doctors. They also lightly sedated the patient for comfort, as per a statement. 

It took less than two hours to complete the surgery and Nicholas didn't feel any pain. During the procedure, at one point he was also able to see his new kidney, which was donated to him by his best friend Pat Wise, before the doctors implanted it into his body. 

"That particular moment where I saw the kidney in Dr. Nadig's hands — like [it was] extremely powerful to see that," said Nicholas at a press conference Monday (June 24). 

Within 24 hours of the surgery, Nicholas was able to walk out of the hospital. 

Nicholas has been facing kidney issues since he was 16 which eventually led to the need for a transplant. According to the lab, his kidneys were being damaged by inflammation.

Weeks after the surgery, Nicholas is now active and enjoying a less restrictive diet. He is also able to eat his favourite pizza, as per the statement. 

He was asked to control his salt intake before the surgery because excess salt can lead to detrimental impacts on kidney function. 

"I've hit 10,000 steps, I think, every day in the last week and I don't do that normally. So definitely doing well," said Nicholas. 

At a press conference, Dr Satish Nadig, one of the surgeons who performed the transplant, said that spinal and local anaesthetic instead of general anaesthesia had not been used for the first time.