How Virtual Reality Helps Surgery Patients in Rural Mexico
In the high alpine region of Mexico, 12 hours from the country’s capital, Dr. José Luis Mosso Vazquez explores the use of virtual reality as a painkiller in the operating room. Why? Because in this economically marginalized rural area, it can be difficult and costly to rely on general anesthesia. On a recent trip, he performed 12 free operations, removing cysts and tumors. It may sound like a frightening alternative, but combined with local anesthetic, these patients felt almost no pain during their surgery. Dr. Mosso sees his work as his way of repaying the country that helped raise him.