Hypnosis Reduces Pain And Costs
In Breast Cancer Surgery

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According to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (online, August 28), the use of hypnosis prior to breast cancer surgery reduced the amount of anesthesia administered during the operation, the level of pain reported afterwards, and the time and cost of the procedure.

Pain, nausea, and fatigue are most often the side effects experienced by women during and after breast cancer surgery. These complications can increase medical costs due to possible longer hospital stays, a possible hospital readmission, or additional medications. Hypnosis may, as several previous studies suggest, may reduce pain, recovery time, and the need for medications after surgery.

The effects of hypnosis when given within one hour before surgery were examined by Guy Montgomery, Ph.D., of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and colleagues. In a clinical trial, 200 women were randomly assigned to a control session in which they spoke with a psychologist or 15 minutes of hypnosis by a psychologist. The researchers then compared the use of pain medications and sedatives during surgery, as well as the levels of side effects and pain reported afterwards.

The hypnosis session began with suggestions for relaxation and pleasant visual imagery. The patients were then given suggestions to reduce nausea, pain, and fatigue, as well as instructions on using hypnosis on their own.

In comparison to the control group, patients in the hypnosis group required less anesthesia and reported less pain, nausea, fatigue, discomfort, and emotional upset after surgery. They spent less time in surgery (almost 11 minutes less), and mostly because of that time savings, their surgical costs were reduced by about $773 per patient.

The authors wrote that "Together, the combination of potential improvements in symptom burden for the hundreds of thousands of women facing breast cancer surgery each year and the economic benefit for institutions argues persuasively for the more widespread application of brief pre-surgical hypnosis.”

"It has taken us a century and a half to rediscover the fact that the mind has something to do with pain and can be a powerful tool in controlling it ... It is now abundantly clear that we can retrain the brain to reduce pain: 'float rather than fight,'" writes David Spiegel, M.D. of the Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, CA in an accompanying editorial on the history of hypnosis and its effectiveness in medicine and pain reduction.

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Source:

Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2007, August 28). Hypnosis Reduces Pain And Costs