Dr. Jacobson can perform complex wide-awake hand surgery using only local anesthesia, sometimes with no need for a tourniquet. The technique is known as Wide Awake Surgery or WALANT surgery, which stands for Wide Awake Local Anesthesia No Tourniquet. Instead of a tourniquet to stop bleeding, WALANT surgery uses an injection of epinephrine to control bleeding and lidocaine to stop pain.
What Is Wide Awake or WALANT Surgery?
Instead of a tourniquet to stop bleeding, WALANT surgery uses an injection of epinephrine to control bleeding and lidocaine to stop pain.
Wide Awake or WALANT surgery can be used to treat conditions such as:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Trigger finger
- De Quervain’s tenosynovitis
- Tendon ruptures
- Stiff fingers
- Hand or finger masses
- Severe arthritis of the hand and wrist
- Finger fractures
Benefits of Wide Awake or WALANT Surgery
The biggest benefit of Wide Awake or WALANT surgery is avoiding anesthesia. Although anesthesia is generally safe, it makes many people groggy and nauseous, is expensive and can be inconvenient for patients–anesthesia requires a pre-surgery medical examination, someone to be with you for your surgery and you’ll need more recovery time, for example.
The Wide Awake and WALANT techniques are ideal for patients with medical conditions like clotting disorders or taking medications such as anticoagulants, both of which could make surgery dangerous otherwise. Substituting local anesthesia with epinephrine for general anesthesia makes Wide Awake and WALANT surgery significantly safer alternatives in those cases.
Other benefits of Wide Awake and WALANT surgery include:
- Faster recovery time
- No fasting necessary
- No IV necessary
- Less pain after surgery
- Lower cost
- No possibility of an anesthesia complication
- High rate of patient satisfaction
Candidates for Wide Awake or WALANT Surgery
Many hand and wrist conditions can be treated with these techniques. Because it is so safe and effective, almost anyone is a candidate. Ask Dr. Jacobson if Wide Awake or WALANT surgery is right for you.
Recovery from Wide Awake or WALANT Surgery
Wide Awake and WALANT surgeries are usually outpatient procedures, meaning no hospital stay is necessary. In fact, some of these procedures can be done right in the office. Although recovery time will vary depending on the procedure, generally recovery is shorter, easier and less painful for Wide Awake and WALANT surgery.
If you are considering hand or wrist surgery, contact us today to discuss your treatment options and find out whether Wide Awake or WALANT surgery is right for you.