People turn to social media these days to share all manner of details about their lives.

But Mike Hamlyn went a step further than most when he took to Twitter to share live tweets during his hip replacement operation at The Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry.

The 55-year-old from Whitchurch opted for a spinal anaesthesia rather than the traditional general anaesthetic for his procedure following discussions with his anaesthetist, Dr Ruth Longfellow.

That was combined with a mild sedative that helped him relax but did not render him unconscious.

It meant he stayed awake throughout his procedure and was able to listen to a podcast, as well as share details of progress on Twitter and interact with other Twitter users.

“I discussed the anaesthetic options with Ruth and opted for a spinal block with minimum sedation,” said Mike.

“I had my headphones on listening to a podcast to block out some of the noise and then started sending Twitter updates off my iPad and replying to messages that were coming in.

“I could smell burning from the drilling but I couldn’t feel anything, so it was like the smell was not connected to me – I was disassociated from it. Talking to people on Twitter was a distraction too. I was glad I did it.”

Why a spinal anaethesia?

A spinal anaesthesia involves having 2-3mls of local anaesthetic injected through a very fine needle into the fluid that nourishes the spinal cord and nerves (cerebrospinal fluid).

Its benefits are that a patient will tend to experience less pain immediately after surgery and will be able to return to drinking and eating more rapidly. It also tends to enable an earlier start to post-surgical rehabilitation.

Those were benefits that Mike, who is currently training to be a physics teacher through a PGCE at Keele University, certainly experienced for himself.

“The whole operation only took around 45 minutes and before I knew it I was sat up in Recovery having a cup of coffee,” he revealed.

“The next day, Will the physio got me up for the first time. That first walk was a struggle and I felt faint after.

“But that night was the first time I’ve slept through in six months because of the pain I’ve been in. It was incredible.

“And when I got up on Monday morning, I could walk. It was still a little sore, but I felt so much more confident. I’ve got to take it easy, but I’ll be back to work in six weeks.

“By Wednesday morning, less than two days after leaving the hospital, I was able to walk into town for my morning coffee.”

Dr Longfellow, who is clinical lead for acute pain at the Orthopaedic, said: “We use spinal anaesthesia for the majority of our hip and knee replacements here. Patients are invited to attend a Joint School before their surgery, where they have the opportunity to learn more about types of anaesthesia, particularly spinals, so then come in for their operation fully informed about what to expect.

“General anaesthesia can make patients feel very groggy afterwards, particularly if a lot of opiates are required during the operation; this can be avoided by using a spinal anaesthetic,” she added.

“Some patients choose to have a spinal anaesthetic and stay awake in theatre. If a patient does not want to be awake in theatre, they can still have a spinal anaesthetic, and combine it with sedation, so they sleep through their operation, but then quickly wake up when surgery has finished, ready for a cup of tea in recovery!”