The Effectiveness of Suggestive Techniques in Reducing Postoperative Side Effects

Abstract

Suggestive techniques might be useful tools to alleviate postoperative anxiety and pain; however, strength of the evidence is weak because of possible bias in the reviewed articles. The lack of access to within-subjects data and the overlap between moderator conditions also limit the scope of the analysis. More methodologically correct studies are required with sensitivity to moderating factors and to within-subjects changes. For clinical purposes, we advise the use of hypnosis with live presentation to reduce postoperative anxiety and pain, until convincing evidence is uncovered for the effectiveness of therapeutic suggestions and recorded presentation. Pain management with adjunct suggestive interventions is mostly encouraged in minor rather than major surgeries.

Hypnosis for Acute Procedural Pain:A Critical Review

“…While there were reports of some beneficial effect for all of these procedures, the highest success rate was demonstrated in hypnosis for surgical procedures, with 75% of measures showing significantly beneficial results. This finding is in line with numerous previous reviews showing that hypnosis is a successful adjunctive treatment for the prevention of surgical side-effects (Flammer & Bongartz, 2003; Flory, Martinez Salazar, & Lang, 2007; Kekecs, Nagy, & Varga, in press; Montgomery, David, Winkel, Silverstein, & Bovbjerg, 2002; Schnur, Kafer, Marcus, & Montgomery, 2008; Tefikow et al, 2013; Wobst, 2007). We have to note here that most of the studies included in this review assess hypnoanalgesia for minor surgical procedures.…”

“…We have to note here that most of the studies included in this review assess hypnoanalgesia for minor surgical procedures. A recent meta-analysis (Kekecs et al, in press) also showed that hypnosis is likely to reduce postoperative pain for minor procedures, but it failed to find conclusive evidence to support the effectiveness of postoperative hypnotic analgesia in major surgeries. The authors of that meta-analysis speculate that hypnoanalgesic effects might not be sufficient for controlling pain in major surgeries, or, that they may be masked by rigorous pharmacological pain control regimes used after major procedures.…”

Can Preoperative Psychological Assessment Predict Outcomes After Temporomandibular Joint Arthroscopy?

“…Psychological counseling, music, preoperative education, hypnosis, gabapentin, and pregabalin have been shown to decrease anxiety and improve outcomes after various surgical procedures. [41][42][43][44][45][46] Although there is no literature to support or refute the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors in the management of preoperative anxiety, these classes of drugs are routinely used to treat generalized anxiety disorder and could be beneficial in the perioperative period in select patients undergoing surgical procedures for TMD. Further outcome-based studies in the surgical management of TMD that assess anxiety are needed.…”

Hypnosis and music interventions (HMIs) inactivate HIF-1: A potential curative efficacy for cancers and hypertension

“…Hypnosis and music interventions have a long history of assisting cancer treatment Hypnosis is a suggestive intervention alleviating individuals' sufferings and is a non-pharmacologic tool combating anxiety of cancer patients [1,2]. In the history of cancer treatment, the earliest hypnosis event was conducted approximately 200 years ago, and nowadays hypnosis is considered as an effective way to assist cancer therapy [3].…”