The technique of surgery under the influence of hypnosis, known as Hypnosurgery, was conducted by Lebanese Dr. Joseph Ghanimeh at the Belle Vue hospital in Mansourieh. It is the first of its kind in Lebanon; specifically, it’s the first hysteroscopy surgery under hypnosis.
Talking to Annahar and Nida Al-Watan, Dr. Ghanimeh explained that this technique was a result of extensive research for an alternative to anesthesia, which has several negative aspects.
Like acupuncture that is adopted in China and through the world, hypnosis is another method applied by doctors to reduce the damages of anesthesia by mitigating its taking as much as possible.
“The technique cannot be adopted in operations that last up to five hours,” the doctor explained. “It is carefully chosen in specific operations, mainly the ones that do not exceed two hours. It is chosen for specific people, too,” Dr. Joseph Ghanimeh pointed out.
He emphasized the importance of fully preparing the patient beforehand: “A hypnotherapist is supposed to sit before the surgery with the patient and the anesthesiologist, who is present if the patient, for an urgent reason, might need regular anesthesia or analgesia during the surgery.”
“However, in many countries, including France, the anesthesiologist will also be a hypnosis specialist,” he pointed out.
General anesthesia, according to the Ghanimeh, is necessary and in some cases, inevitable. But other times, there’s an alternative that has many advantages; and in this specific case, the use of hypnosis instead of general anesthesia sets a precedent in Lebanon.
Dr. Joseph Ghanimeh is a Lebanese gynecologist and obstetrician. He teamed up with the hypnotherapist to perform this new hysteroscopy Hypnosurgery on a 39-year-old woman.
It took the patient 15 minutes to enter hypnosis and undergo the surgery. The process was successful, and the woman didn’t get to suffer the negative aftermath of anesthesia.
The patient was made to relax in a quiet and comfortable environment. The specialist quietly spoke to her about calming and relaxing conditions until the woman went into a state of hibernation, similar to what happens with anesthesia.
The patient confirmed that the last thing she heard was the sound of the hypnotherapist’s voice, and she woke up from the hypnosis easily and quickly.
Hypnosurgeries are claimed to date back to the 1840s. It was used frequently before the discovery of anesthesia and is also used today for operations around the world but only in certain cases.
During a Hypnosurgery, the patient’s muscles are more relaxed, the body experiences fewer traumas, and bleeding is lessened. The patient also wakes up faster and heals better.
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