A 76-year-old pensioner underwent colon cancer surgery under hypnosis without general anesthesia. It is a world medical first
A 76-year-old pensioner from Italy underwent colon cancer surgery under hypnosis, without general anaesthetic, in what is believed to be a world medical first. Doctors combined clinical hypnosis, conscious sedation and local anesthesia to be able to safely operate on the patient with multiple medical risks, where general anesthesia was contraindicated.
The patient was discharged after 24 hours Photo: Instagram
The operation took place at the Molinette Hospital in Turin. Doctors successfully performed a right hemicolectomy on a 76-year-old man from the Puglia region diagnosed with a hemorrhagic tumor of the large intestine.
Because of severe medical problems, including a recent pulmonary embolism and respiratory failure, general anesthesia and mechanical ventilation were considered extremely risky.
Under these conditions, the medical team opted for a protocol considered innovative, which included anesthetic blocks of the abdominal wall, conscious sedation and clinical hypnosis, writes the international press.
During the intervention, which lasted about an hour, a specialist in medical hypnosis guided the patient through a process designed to reduce anxiety, stress and the perception of pain.
He was helped to imagine familiar places in his native region, which helped maintain physiological stability and reduce the need for sedatives.
The postoperative evolution was rapid and favorable. The man did not require intensive care, began to mobilize and feed only 24 hours after the intervention, and a few days later he was discharged and returned home.
The doctors involved believe that this case could open new perspectives in the treatment of high-risk cancer patients, for whom general anesthesia is contraindicated.
According to them, combining modern surgical techniques with clinical hypnosis-type methods could redefine the future of complex interventions.
“This procedure demonstrates that modern surgery can overcome the conventional limits of oncology treatment”the representatives of the Turin medical center sent.
