Would you go under the knife while wide awake?

local or ‘regional’ nerve blocks are being suggested as a way to speed up operations and tackle the backlog of patients waiting for procedures. The idea has caused some dismay as it sounds fairly horrific — but I think we should be doing more of these kind of ops. A general anaesthetic can cause lasting problems to people’s brains, with middle-aged and older people having a higher risk of memory loss and cognitive decline. When I broke my foot, I asked for light sedation and a nerve block. I was actually quite euphoric during the procedure and my vague memory of it is entirely positive.