You’ll be sedated and completely comfortable — most patients remember nothing about the procedure at all. Instead of general anesthesia, we use spinal (regional) anesthesia, so your body is fully numb while you rest in a twilight state. The benefit: you wake up clear-headed, without the grogginess, nausea, or breathing tube that come with general anesthesia — which is a big part of why our patients go home the same day.

Far less than most people expect. Because the spinal anesthesia continues to control pain for hours after surgery, the hardest window — the first several hours — is largely covered before it starts. Most of our patients manage their recovery with minimal or no opioids using our opioid-sparing protocol. You’ll have soreness as you heal, but it’s typically manageable with the plan we send home with you.

Every surgery is performed with a full anesthesia team present, and your procedure can be converted to general anesthesia at any moment if ever needed — that’s built into the protocol. Dr. Sharan pioneered this technique, has published extensively on it in peer-reviewed journals, and trains other surgeons in the approach. The protocol exists because it’s been refined, studied, and validated — not improvised.

Age alone doesn’t disqualify you — in fact, avoiding general anesthesia is often more valuable for older patients, who face higher risks of post-anesthesia confusion and complications. Candidacy depends on your overall health, your specific spine condition, and imaging findings. The only way to know is an evaluation, and we’ll give you a straight answer either way.

Good candidates typically have one- or two-level lumbar conditions — degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis, stenosis with instability — confirmed on imaging, and are healthy enough for outpatient surgery. It may not be right for patients with certain complex deformities, multi-level disease, or medical conditions requiring overnight monitoring. An evaluation with imaging review is how we determine this, and if you’re not a candidate, we’ll tell you and explain your options. You can upload your existing MRI at our secure imaging portal before your consultation.

No referral is needed to schedule a consultation — many of our patients come to us directly after researching their options. Some insurance plans require a referral for coverage purposes, so check your plan or call our office at (732) 898-3950 and we’ll help you sort it out before your visit.

Dr. Sharan pioneered awake spinal fusion under regional anesthesia and has performed hundreds of these procedures at a fully accredited outpatient surgical facility. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, serves as Deputy Editor of Clinical Spine Surgery, co-edited the textbook Awake Spine Surgery (Thieme Medical Publishers, 2026), and trains visiting surgeons in the technique. Read more on our publications page or lectures page.