Hypnosurgery is surgery where the patient is sedated using hypnotherapy rather than traditional anaesthetics. It is claimed that hypnosis for anaesthesia has been used since the 1840s where it was pioneered by the surgeon James Braid.[citation needed] There are occasional media reports of surgery being conducted under hypnosis,[1][2] but since these are not carried out under controlled conditions, nothing can be concluded from them. In 2013 in the University of Padova, Italy, Hypnosis was used as sole anaesthesia for a skin tumour removal in a patient with multiple chemical sensitivity who couldn't use chemical drugs [3].
There is insufficient evidence to support the efficacy of hypnosis in managing pain in other contexts, such as childbirth[4] or post-operative pain.[5]
- ^ Pain-free alternative to anaesthetics?, BBC, 18 April 2008
- ^ Hypnotist puts himself into trance as surgeon saws through his ankle without general anaesthetic, The Mirror, 28 August 2013
- ^ Hypnosis as sole anaesthesia for skin tumour removal in a patient with multiple chemical sensitivity, Anaesthesia: Volume 68, Issue 9, the official journal of the Association of Anaesthetist, https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.12251, September 2013.
- ^ Jones, L.; Othman, M.; Dowswell, T.; Alfirevic, Z.; Gates, S.; Newburn, M.; Jordan, S.; Lavender, T.; Neilson, J. P. (2012). Neilson, James P (ed.). "Pain management for women in labour: an overview of systematic reviews". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 3 (3): CD009234. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009234.pub2. PMC 7132546. PMID 22419342.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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