3 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 9
I
know what you're thinking, and no, hypnosedation doesn't
involve swinging a pocket watch while telling patients you're get-
ting sleepy … very, very sleepy before surgery. Hypnosedation
combines hypnosis with the incremental doses of local anesthetics to
keep patients calm and comfortable during surgery without the use of
inhalational gases or short-acting sedatives.
The concept is neither new (Scottish neurosurgeon James Braid
coined the term "hypnosis" in the 1840s to describe the state of deep
relaxation he put his patients in) nor experimental (the National
Comprehensive Cancer Network lists hypnosis in its pain manage-
ment guidelines). It's also not yet mainstream, however, so let's
explore the anesthesia alternative that's no cheap parlor trick.
Believe in the Power of Hypnosis
Sedating patients with guided imagery and local anesthetics.
Anesthesia Alert
Elizabeth Rebello, MD, FASA
• SOOTHING VOICE Hypnotherapists help patients recall the details of comforting memories as they guide them through surgery.
MD
Anderson
Cancer
Center