Hypnosis has been found to decrease psychological trauma associated with "awake surgery" for brain cancer, opening up a possible alternative for glioma patients undergoing treatment, researchers say.
In a study published in the journal Neurosurgery, Ilyess Zemmoura and colleagues from the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Tours in France note that initial evaluations demonstrated a favorable rate of successful hypnosis in patients going under the knife for brain cancer. Zemmoura and his team worked with 37 patients who underwent awake craniotomy for low-grade gliomas, between 2011 to 2015.
For the procedure, patients were sedated but left conscious enough to communicate during the surgery. In this state, the surgeon will be able to safely navigate their way to the tumor in the brain without hurting the "eloquent cortex" or the critical areas responsible for movement or language.
Patients were prepped for hypnosis a few weeks before their surgery, with the hypnotist/anesthesiologist meeting with them for short hypnosis sessions. They were also taught how to come up with an imaginary place where they can feel effective and safe.
Once in the operating room, patients were put in a hypnotic trance. This state is enhanced in the initial steps of the operation. If a particular step is painful or unpleasant, patients are given specific imagery and instructions.
The researchers were able to accomplish 43 surgeries using hypnosedation, including repeat operations for patients with recurrent gliomas. Hypnosis did not work in six patients while another two opted out of the procedure.
When successful, hypnosedation showed little to zero negative psychological impact on a patient. However, the success of hypnosis also appeared to be strongly related to how motivated and determined a patient is.
While some patients did feel high stress levels during their surgery, this did not affect their subjective assessment of hypnosedation.
An important benefit to hypnosedation is that it keeps a patient awake throughout the craniotomy. This takes away the need to wake up a patient in the middle of the usual "asleep-awake-asleep" anesthesia, which is troublesome for those with high-grade brain cancer.
However, Zemmoura and colleagues are not saying that hypnosedation is better than standard anesthesia on the overall. In fact, they are emphasizing that the procedure requires a lot of time and preparation, on both the medical staff and the patient's side.
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