Surgeons may hypnotise under-the-knife patients
A leading American academic believes that surgeons should hypnotise patients before operations rather than using anaesthetics, reports The Telegraph.
Professor David Spiegel, of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at Stanford University will call for hypnotherapy to be used in the treatment of various conditions, from allergies to pain management to high blood pressure, following on from the use of hypnotherapy for irritable bowel syndrome.
He will be addressing the Royal Society of Medicine to ask that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence consider using hypnotherapy.
Professor Spiegel said: “It is time for hypnosis to work its way into the mainstream of British medicine. “There is solid science behind what sounds like mysticism and we need to get that message across to the bodies that influence this area.
“Hypnosis has no negative side-effects. It makes operations quicker, as the patient is able to talk to the surgeon as the operation proceeds, and it is cheaper than conventional pain relief. Since it does not interfere with the workings of the body, the patient recovers faster, too.”
