Hypnotism could help speed up recovery time after surgery while also leaving the patient needing fewer painkillers, according to a new study reported by the Daily Mail.
Researchers in Belgium, where hypnotism is routinely used during surgery, worked with volunteers undergoing surgery for breast or thyroid cancer.
In both studies, a small selection of patients was hypnotized and only local anesthetic – which numbs the area but keeps the patient conscious – was used. The remaining patients were put under general anesthetic, which rendered them unconscious.
Those who were hypnotized but conscious took five to twenty minutes longer during surgery, but were discharged from the hospital a day earlier than those who had been put under general anesthesia.
"There is still a lot of debate around the exact mechanism that allows hypnosis to reduce pain perception, but what is absolutely clear is that it does so," explained Fabienne Roelants, of the Universite Catholique de Louvain in Brussels
"Although there are special precautions to be taken… it is a straightforward procedure and appreciated by the patients," added co-author Dr. Christine Watremez.
Researchers also believe hypnotism could reduce the risk of cancer spreading, due to local anesthesia’s ability to block the body’s stress reaction to the surgery.