We prepared the following information to give physicians a broader look at the known benefits of hypnotic preparation for surgery.

 

Patrick Bowe March 29, 2006

​

The Mind and Pain
 

The perception of pain can be dramatically altered using various processes of communication (such as suggestion, distraction, hypnosis, guided imagery, etc.).  As early as the 1800’s it was demonstrated that anesthesia sufficient for complex surgery could be obtained using only the mind.  Dr. James Esdaile of Scotland performed several thousand painless minor operations and 300 major operations, including cataracts, amputations, hydroceles and scrotal tumors, using ‘mesmerism’ as the sole anesthesia. (Esdaile 1846).

​

Hypnosis has been demonstrated to be a significant tool of mental pain management (Hilgard 1994, Barber 1996).  After exhaustive study, in 1957, the AMA Council on Mental Health unanimously recommended the “Medical Use of Hypnosis” which was officially approved in 1958. Since that time, hypnosis has been used with enthusiasm within the profession by a select group of physicians familiar with its benefit.  There are at least two notable books on hypnosis written by anesthesiologists.  “Hypnosis in Anesthesiology” (1959) was written by Dr Milton Marmer.  Dr. Marmer was Chairman of the Department of Anesthesia at “Cedars Lebanon Hospital” of Los Angeles.  More recent and up-to-date writing can be found on the subject in “The Use of Hypnosis in Surgery and Anesthesiology” (2001) by Lillian Fredericks, M.D..  Dr. Fredericks is retired from the Department of Anesthesiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

​

Although hypnosis can be used alone as a form of anesthesia, this is rare.  It is far more commonly used as an adjunct to standard protocols. A simple and famous example occurred in the early 1900’s.  The anesthetic death rate from chloroform and ether was one in four hundred at university hospitals. At the time Alice Magaw, at the Mayo clinic, reported over 14,000 consecutive anesthetics without a death. Her father had taught her to use hypnotic principles to reduce the quantity of ether used during major procedures. This skill enhanced the reputation of the clinic. (Magaw 1906).

​

Additional benefits of hypnosis with surgery

​

The psychological, physiological and monetary advantages of hypnosis preoperatively, during surgery and post operatively have been documented for at least 30 years. (Kessler and Dane, 1996).   Sobel and Ornstein (1996) indicate, “In an analysis of over 190 studies of psychological preparation for surgery, 80% of the patients showed significant benefits: quicker recovery, fewer complications, less post surgical pain, less need for pain medication, less anxiety and depression and an average of 1.5 days less in hospitals.”

​

An article on the Cleveland Clinic web site (Cleveland Clinic, 2006) details the following…  “Over 200 research studies in the past 30 years have explored the role of mind-body techniques in helping prepare people for surgical and medical procedures and helping them recover more rapidly. These studies have shown that guided imagery may significantly reduce stress and anxiety before and after surgical and medical procedures. In addition guided imagery has proven to help people:

​

• Dramatically decrease pain and the need for pain medication

• Decrease side effects and complications of medical procedures

• Reduce recovery time and shorten hospital stays

• Enhance sleep

• Strengthen the immune system and enhance the ability to heal

• Increase self-confidence and self-control”

 

Beyond these basic improvements hypnosis and guided imagery can influence critical physical functions. “There is good documentation that human beings are capable of regulating many autonomic functions, such as blood pressure, heart rate and rhythm, peripheral temperature, etc., which we thought were not under voluntary control.”  (Fredericks, 2001). There are well-controlled studies that demonstrate that hypnotic suggestions can aid with the control of heart rate and rhythm (Bleeker & Engel, 1973a and b), the reduction of blood loss during surgery (Bennett, Benson and Kuicken, 1986) stopping the bleeding by hemophiliacs (Frederichs, 1967), the rapidity of healing and lack of complications, and the enhancement of the immune system (Hall,1983 & Dillon, Minchoff & Baker, 1985).

​