"If a patient is conscious during surgery but doesn’t remember any of it, is that good enough?"

Wait! How can you even ask that question! Obviously, not!

It’s a bit like the tree falling in the forest with nobody to hear it. 

What?! No, it's not.

An anesthesiologist’s koan. If even the patient has no recollection of surgery, was he aware?

And how could we possibly know?

Maybe we don't want to know.