Major Facial Surgery in England Under Hypnosis

It appears that England is much more advanced than us in the use of hypnosis for surgery. I Thought you would like to see todays article:

Scots woman first patient to get dental op under hypnosis


Dr GOW and Dr Faqir operate with a scalpel on Wendy as she lies under hypnosis

A WOMAN has had major dental surgery under hypnosis in what's thought to be the first operation of its kind in the world.

Wendy Spencer shunned traditional anaesthetics in favour of being placed in a trance for a tooth implant.

The procedure, usually done under local or general anaesthetic, involved inserting a titanium rod into the bone in her upper jaw.
The 34-year-old, of Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, also had the membrane of her sinus moved up to make room for the implant which will have a false tooth attached.

The treatment was carried out at a Kilmarnock surgery by dentist and hypnotist Dr Mike Gow and dental surgeon Dr Abid Faqir.
Dr Gow, 29, from Newton Mearns, has used hypnosis in the past to stop people grinding their teeth, and to cure people's anxieties and smoking addiction.
But this was the first time he'd used the technique for such major dental surgery.

The operation was filmed for a TV documentary, HypnoSurgery Live, which will be screened tonight on More4, Channel 4's digital channel.

Dr Gow said: "There is a lot of documentation of people having teeth taken out under hypnosis but nothing we can find in the world where anyone has had an implant in this way.
"We used hypnosis to create an altered sensation in the area where the treatment was taking place. Wendy said it felt as if she was looking back at herself having the procedure done.
"She was imagining a dial with zero as no pain to 10 as the worst.
"When we were doing the incision with the scalpel she said she was at zero. The highest she got up to was five."

Dr Gow will appear on a live debate about the merits of hypnosurgery on tonight's show which will also feature a live hernia operation.
Dr Gow said: "This isn't something I'd encourage for everyday procedures but I
hope it can help develop techniques where hypnosis is used with anaesthetics."

The graduate of Glasgow University Dental School said hypnosis was a valuable
clinical tool but its reputation had been damaged by stage hypnotists.

A spokeswoman for Channel 4 said: "We will be asking whether hypnosis should be widely available - possibly on the NHS - to people unsuited to or afraid of anaesthetics."
Advocates believe surgery under hypnosis has benefits such as reducing blood loss and post-operative nausea.