Hypnosis & Surgery
“The state of hypnotism is capable of producing insensibility to pain sufficient for surgical operations.”
— James Braid
Just a few incredible stats on how hypnosis can help pre, during, anapest surgery. Of course, hypnosis can help with all the emotional preparedness before and while recovering. These are some of the more obscure facts that many do not consider.
“Long before modern anesthesia, physicians discovered something remarkable: the mind itself could quiet pain.”
Hypnosis improves multiple surgical outcomes across dozens of trials.
A meta-analysis of 34 randomized controlled trials involving 2,597 patients found hypnosis significantly improved several surgical outcomes, including emotional distress, pain, medication use, recovery, and even procedure time.
Citation: Tefikow et al. (2013) – Efficacy of Hypnosis in Adults Undergoing Surgery or Medical Procedures.
Hypnosis reduces the amount of anesthesia required during surgery.
In a randomized clinical trial of breast-cancer surgery patients, those who received hypnosis required 32.63 µg less propofol and 6.86 mL less lidocaine than patients receiving standard care.
Citation: Montgomery et al. (2007) – Brief Hypnosis Intervention to Control Side Effects in Breast Surgery Patients.
“Mesmeric anesthesia was successfully used in hundreds of major operations before chemical anesthesia became common.”
— referring to the surgical work of James Esdaile
Hypnosis may shorten surgical procedure time.
The same analysis found hypnosis reduced procedure duration (g = 0.25), suggesting calmer patients may allow surgeries to proceed more efficiently.
Citation: Tefikow et al. (2013) – Efficacy of Hypnosis in Adults Undergoing Surgery or Medical Procedures.
Hypnosis may reduce hospital costs during surgery.
Because of shorter procedure time and lower medication use, hypnosis patients cost hospitals about $772 less per surgical case in the breast-surgery trial.
Citation: Montgomery et al. (2007) – Brief Hypnosis Intervention to Control Side Effects in Breast Surgery Patients.
Hypnosis can reduce postoperative pain after surgery.
A meta-analysis of 8 randomized controlled trials involving 1,242 surgical patients found that hypnosis performed before general anesthesia significantly reduced postoperative pain (mean difference = −1.25 on pain scales) compared with controls.
Citation: Li et al. (2022) – Effect of Hypnosis Before General Anesthesia on Postoperative Outcomes.
“The power of the mind over the body is nowhere more striking than in the abolition of pain by suggestion.”
— Hippolyte Bernheim
Hypnosis can reduce several postoperative symptoms.
In the same randomized trial, patients who received hypnosis reported significantly lower levels of:
• Pain intensity (22.43 vs 47.83)
• Nausea (6.57 vs 25.49)
• Fatigue (29.47 vs 54.20)
• Emotional distress (8.67 vs 33.46)
compared with control patients.
Citation: Montgomery et al. (2007) – Brief Hypnosis Intervention to Control Side Effects in Breast Surgery Patients.
Hypnosis reduces the need for opioid pain medication after surgery.
A randomized clinical trial found patients who received a brief hypnosis session before breast-cancer surgery required significantly less postoperative fentanyl than patients in a mindfulness control group.
Citation: Crawford et al. (2025) – Preoperative Hypnosis vs Mindfulness for Reducing Postoperative Symptoms.
Hypnosis can increased pain threshold during dental procedures.
A study measuring dental pain threshold found:
Hypnosis increased pain tolerance by up to 220% in stimulated teeth during testing.
Citation: Dworkin, S. F., et al. Journal of Dental Research. “The effects of hypnosis on dental pain threshold.”
“Dental hypnosis is one of the most effective tools for reducing fear and discomfort associated with dental treatment.”
— Steven J. Lynn
Hypnosis can reduce pain during dental surgery.
A clinical study on third molar (wisdom tooth) extraction found:
Only 8.3% of patients under hypnosis reported pain during the procedure
Compared with 33.3% of patients using standard local anesthesia alone
Patients in the hypnosis group also reported significantly less postoperative pain.
Citation: Abdeshahi SK et al. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine.
Hypnosis has successfully helped manage pain control for root canals.
Research on hypnosis used with dental anesthesia reported:
Hypnosis-assisted treatment was effective in 76.2% of root canal patients for pain control.
Citation: Arabzade Moghadam, S., Yousefi, F., & Saad, S. Clinical and Experimental Dental Research, 2021. “The effect of hypnosis on pain relief due to injection of dental infiltration anesthesia.”
“Across surgical disciplines, hypnosis continues to demonstrate a simple truth: the mind can influence how the body experiences pain, fear, and healing.”
