Suburban Chicago man gets kidney transplant while wide awake

CHICAGO (CBS) — A 74-year-old Zion man is celebrating a new lease on life after he underwent a kidney transplant while he was still awake.

Harry Stackhouse, a father of six and grandfather to 17, said he first started feeling sick in 2019, and after going months without getting better, Stackhouse learned one of his kidneys was failing.

He spent four years on dialysis until his daughter, 45-year-old Trewaunda Stackhouse of Waukegan, convinced him to let her be his donor.

"By using a spinal anesthetic for kidney transplantation, we're able to bypass the risks associated with general anesthesia. Additionally, older patients like Harry won't have the recovery period associated with intubation and being on a ventilator, which improves the patient experience," said Satish Nadig, transplant surgeon and director of the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive Transplant Center, who performed the procedure.

Doctors chose to keep Stackhouse awake during the transplant because he was at a higher risk of complications. Stackhouse said it was an unbelievable experience.

It's the second time Northwestern Medicine surgeons have performed an awake kidney transplant.

"(The doctor) he said do you want to see the kidney? I said that kidney is big," Stackhouse said.

Stackhouse was sent home with a clean bill of health less than two days after the surgery. Northwestern said he felt no pain during the surgery.

In June , CBS Chicago reported that Northwestern Health performed the first kidney transplant while the patient was wide awake. The surgery took place back on May 24. The patient, 28-year-old John Nicholas of Chicago, was discharged to go home the day after the surgery. He said he felt no pain.

Instead of standard general anesthesia, Northwestern Medicine doctors gave Nicholas a spinal epidural, a nerve block, and light sedation.