This case series involving two patients highlights clinical hypnosis as an effective adjunct in anaesthesia for cataract surgery. The first patient was a 55-year old lady, with the American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) classification 2, who was scheduled for cataract surgery for her left eye. The second patient was a 34-year old man, ASA 2, with an underlying retroviral disease, hypertension and a prolapsed intervertebral disc with spinal stenosis of the 3rd to 7th cervical vertebrae, and he was scheduled for cataract surgery in his right eye. These patients were anxious and they responded positively to the proposal of utilising clinical hypnosis as a mode of sedation (hypnosedation) for surgery. Hypnotic induction was achieved with an ideo-dynamic induction, which was described as a non-ritualistic method of hypnosis. Both reported that they experienced profound relaxation during the procedure and were able to respond to the surgical team during the surgery.
Hypnosis, Anesthetic

This is a report to share the experience of managing a patient planned for surgical wound procedure under anaesthesia with medical hypnosis as a tool for sedation and pain relief with a wrist block to supplement the analgesic effect. This was a patient who presented with severe preoperative anxiety and pain concerning her surgical procedure. She developed an allergy to some analgesia from her first surgical procedure. Adequate motivational interviewing techniques with the patient enabled issues about her anxiety to be explored and helped to ease the patient's anxiety. The surgical procedure was successfully done with hypnosis and regional anaesthesia. The patient's response towards pain and anxiety was documented based on Numerical Reporting Scale. The patient's wound care in the ward and clinic proved to be less painful and more comfortable for the patient with her self-hypnosis skill. Empowering the patient with medical hypnosis during the procedure is an option that should be explored.
Hypnosis