Get the biggest stories sent straight to your inbox Sign up for regular updates and breaking news from WalesOnline Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Lying awake listening to a surgeon cutting through your bone may sound like a gruesome tale straight from the Middle Ages.

But that’s exactly what happened to 68-year-old cricket fan Jeannette Griffin – who even managed to watch a one-day match between Pakistan and South Africa during her recent hip replacement operation.

Glider enthusiast Jeannette is just one of a growing band of patients opting not to have general anaesthetic for surgery which once demanded it.

But the former electronics lecturer from Hyssington in Powys, who was fully awake throughout the two-hour procedure, did not want to hear the hammering and sawing and so asked to listen to the match on the radio as a distraction.

“The experience was absolutely brilliant,” she said. “The anaesthetists asked if there was anything I wanted to listen to and then explained they could go one better by enabling me to watch the cricket, rather than just listening through headphones.”

As Jeannette settled herself onto the operating table, the anaesthetist handed her an iPad, allowing her to tune into the match.

Completely absorbed in her favourite sport, the pensioner said she was aware of hammering and could feel her body being pulled around, but did not feel any pain – and was only upset when she was wheeled out of the theatre part way through the match.

Speaking after the operation, she said: “The procedure was over so quickly, I missed the final two overs. I feel great and I’m sure that staying awake for the operation has contributed to this.”

Although adventurous Jeannette has a good head for heights and qualified as a solo glider pilot three years ago, she is terrified of general anaesthetic. It was this fear which prompted her to research other options.

After speaking to consultants at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry, she decided to opt for a spinal block – a form of anaesthesia that numbs sensation in the lower part of the body for up to five hours.

During the procedure, a needle was inserted through a gap between the bones in her lower back and local anaesthetic was injected to numb the area.

Consultant anaesthetist Dr John John said: “There is nothing innovative about spinals, they have been around for 80 years.

“The main advantage is the avoidance of a general anaesthetic. This means the patient will suffer from less nausea, grogginess, sore throat, confusion and less risk of developing chest infections.

“Another advantage is patients can eat and drink straightaway.”

Fellow anaesthetist Dr Elis Hughes said the procedure was becoming increasingly common. In 2003, only six of his 43 hip patients chose the spinal block, but since the beginning of this year, all 42 patients have opted to stay fully awake throughout the procedure.

He added: “I see patients before surgery and reassure them that with a spinal block, they won’t feel anything from the waist down, but if they feel anxious, they can also be given intravenous sedation to relax them.”

According to Dr Hughes, most patients worry about hearing sawing, hammering and drilling during the operation, so he advises them to bring an MP3 player to drown out the noise.

Jeannette said: “I was slightly apprehensive beforehand, but the anaesthetist was close by the whole time, which was reassuring. I’m glad I had the operation this way.”

The active grandmother of two retired to Mid Wales with husband Stephen 15 years ago, and started gliding at the Long Mynd gliding club as a 60th birthday present from her husband and three children.

She started to notice pain in her right hip last autumn, when she landed her wooden K8 glider at the far end of the airfield due to bad weather and had to walk back to the launch point.

Despite receiving physiotherapy, she began to struggle to lift her leg high enough to get into the glider and could not sleep due to the pain.

After undergoing surgery on June 10, Jeannette is recovering at home and hopes to be flying over the Welsh countryside again in September.

She said: “I’m counting the days until then.”