If you have to go to the hospital for an operation, you will probably be extremely worried. However, you know that the doctors will put you to sleep before they begin their work. We recently came across a story, however, about a man who did not want to be put to sleep during his operation. Instead of taking anaesthetic, he wanted to hypnotise himself!
The patient is called Alex Lenkei (left with is surgeon following the operation) and he is a professional hypnotherapist. Mr Lenkei had to have an operation on his hand. He told his surgeon that he would like to hypnotise himself for the operation rather than being put to sleep. The surgeon was not happy with this idea, but Mr Lenkei was able to persuade him.
An anaesthetist was at Mr Lenkei’s side throughout the whole operation just in case things went wrong. That was not necessary as the operation was a success. His surgeon said afterwards, “Some people are extremely concerned about being given an anaesthetic, so I am always looking to find alternatives. I was confident that Mr Lenkei is a skilled hypnotist. I am delighted all went well”. The surgeon pointed out that the less anaesthetic used on a patient, the quicker the recovery time.
Since then, Mr Lenkei has now had a total of six operations without using an anaesthetic. During the most recent operation on his ankle, the surgeon was shocked when Mr Lenkei asked him how it was going halfway through the procedure and even commented on the noise that the saw was making!
When asked why he preferred not to have anaesthetic, Mr Lenkei said, “The brain is like a sophisticated computer. If you press the right buttons, it will do amazing things. If you press the right buttons, it will switch certain things off.”
We are impressed with Mr Lenkei’s success, but as for us, we think we will still ask to be put to sleep during any operation.
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