Hypnothesia
Did you know that root canals, childbirth, cystoscopic bladder examinations and colonoscopies can be easily accomplished without the conventional anesthesia that uses chemical agents? Painless child birth? Painless surgery? Painless cystoscopic and colonoscopy examinations? Some new breakthrough? Not at all. In fact the history of using hypnosis as anesthesia is quite interesting.
The roots of hypnosis were in medicine, not entertainment. In fact all of the early practitioners were medical doctors and scientists. In the mid 1800’s, Dr. John Elliotson, Dr. James Esdaile and Dr. James Braid, to name but a few of the early pioneers of Hypnothesia, used hypnosis as their sole anesthesia for surgical procedures.
Dr. John Elliotson who held a chair at the University College in London performed 1853 surgical procedures using hypnosis as the only anesthesia. What kind of operations are we referring to? Appendectomies. Amputations. Bowel resections. Breast removal. Hemorrhoid removal. Prostate surgery. Civil surgeons of both the North and the South performed amputations utilizing hypnosis when ether and laudanum were not available.
Hypnosis was considered to be far safer than laudanum, chloroform and ether, as how much of these agents could safely be used without killing the patient, was yet to be determined. The blood pressure cuff would not be invented for another forty years.
Dr. William S. Kroger was an American doctor cross disciplined and specializing in OB, GYN, general surgery and neuroendocrinology. Dr. Kroger demonstrated the use of hypnosis as the sole anesthesia on the surgical removal of a breast tumor on closed circuit television to several medical schools. Another surgical event was filmed when he removed an enlarged thyroid gland. After the hour long procedure, the patient got off the OR table and asked for a drink of water and then got in her wheel chair for the ride back to her room. She was quoted as saying “I felt no pain. I could only feel pressure and what seemed like a tugging at my throat.” Dr. Kroger used film to capture painless childbirth as well. These films were used as teaching aids for medical schools and hospitals. He also produced the film Hypnosis in Dentistry. His book, Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis became the bench mark text on medical hypnosis. It is still the definitive text on the subject thirty years after its publication. Through his seminars and writings he changed the perception of hypnosis from entertainment to being a respected medical option and therapy.
Dr. Milton Erickson, MD was considered to be the founding father of modern hypnotherapy. He utilized hypnosis in not only his psychiatry practice, but in instructing countless dentists and medical doctors in pain mitigation and painless dentistry.
This writer is far from advancing the premise that all surgeries should be done without the chemical agents used in anesthesia. However, for routine child birth, dental procedures including root canals and extractions, cystoscopic exams and colonoscopies it gives one an incredible alternative to conventional anesthesia. We invite calls from you, your medical doctor and your dentist to see if this might be something for you and your medical professional to consider.
If you have an interest in Hypnothesia, I invite you to call Bob Crow, 404.277.1827 at the Atlanta Center for Behavioral Change to schedule a complimentary consultation.