Instead of putting patients to sleep, many major surgical procedures can be done under regional anaesthesia - allowing doctors to offer patients operations they would not have been able to previously because of the risks of being put to sleep. Mark Porter visits the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading to investigate the latest alternatives to general anaesthesia. He talks to patients, and doctors about the new high-tech options available and why they choose one form of anaesthetic over another.

Producer: Erika Wright. Show less