HypnoSurgery Live 2006

A complete abdominal surgical operation under hypnosis

This was a tv documentary broadcast in the UK, on the More Four channel, in April 2006.

In this documentary, a patient undergoes a complete abdominal hernia operation without any conventional anaesthesia.

This particular operation usually requires a general anaesthetic. In this documentary, you see hypnosis used instead of a general anaesthetic for the operation.

Here are some of the people in the documentary:

  • Sarah Smith – the presenter.
  • Dr Tom Hennigan – the consultant surgeon who performed the abdominal hernia operation.
  • Dr Simon Marsh – the consultant surgeon in the tv studio.
  • Mr John Butler – the hypnotherapist who guided the patient into hypnosis during the operation.
  • Dr Angela Orunta – the consultant anaesthetist.

In this documentary they also show another patient having invasive dental surgery under hypnosis, without a general anaesthetic.

The documentary mentions an Irish surgeon, Dr Jack Stanley Gibson, who performed over 4000 operations using hypnosis instead of a general anaesthetic in the 1950s. This was not mentioned in the documentary, but there have been other doctors before this, who have used hypnosis during operations, with quite remarkable results during the 18th and 19th century. Click here for more information.

Watching someone have abdominal surgery, without a general anaesthetic, is a very dramatic demonstration of hypnosis and the power of your mind.

I would like to emphasise that the state of mind in hypnosis, is not the same state of mind as being under a general anaesthetic. They are completely different states of mind:

  • Under hypnosis you are conscious, and aware, and you can remember everything that happens.
  • Under a general anaesthetic you are unconscious, and you generally have no memory of what happens.

The whole documentary is 1 hour and 41 minutes long. If you don’t the time to watch it all, I would recommend the following points in the video:

  • The first 10-12 minutes
  • Dental surgery starts at 29 minutes
  • Abdominal hernia surgery starts at 41 minutes
  • The patient is standing on his feet immediately after the operation at 1 hour and 14 minutes
  • The consultant anaesthetist’s reaction after the surgery at 1 hour and 26 minutes
  • The reactions from the various professionals at 1 hour 32 minutes.

Take care,

Paul

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