Improving Patient Experience Through Preoperative Video Education: A Study of Video-Based Intervention in Wide-Awake Local Anesthesia No-Tourniquet (WALANT) Procedures

Wide-Awake Local Anesthesia No Tourniquet (WALANT) allows many hand and wrist procedures to be performed using a local anesthetic injection without the need for general anesthesia. Because patients remain awake throughout the procedure, adequate preoperative education and preparation are important for managing patient expectations and optimizing the overall surgical experience.

This prospective randomized clinical trial will evaluate the effect of a standardized preoperative educational video on the experience of patients undergoing WALANT hand surgery. All participants will receive traditional preoperative counseling as part of their clinical care. Following enrollment, participants will be randomized to either traditional preoperative counseling alone or traditional preoperative counseling plus the standardized educational video.

The educational video provides standardized information about the WALANT experience, including preparation for surgery, administration of the local anesthetic, the treatment room environment, sensations that may occur while awake during surgery, options for interacting with or observing the procedure, and expectations for postoperative recovery. The purpose of the video is to provide patients with a consistent understanding of what they may experience throughout the perioperative period.

Participants will complete study questionnaires at enrollment, on the day of surgery, and at their routine 2-week post-operative follow-up visit. The study will compare the experiences of participants in the two groups to determine whether adding standardized video-based education to traditional counseling improves expectation management and other aspects of the WALANT patient experience.