Lethbridge resident Todd Bene is believed to be the first patient in Canada to undergo spinal surgery while awake. Surgeon Dr. Michael Yang performed Bene’s discectomy in February at Foothills Medical Centre with a local anesthetic only. For high risk patients like Bene, general anesthesia can result in nausea, vomiting and other complications that typically require a multi-day hospital stay. About four hours after his surgery, Bene was on his way home.

Awake surgery means eligible patients recover much faster, can go home sooner and have less risk of post-op complications. With more than 2,000 spine surgeries performed in the Calgary Zone alone, Dr. Yang is very optimistic about the promise awake surgeries hold for reducing wait times and improving patient outcomes – two important components of the Alberta Surgical Initiative.

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